Absol Lhant
by Hyperjade
Summary: A beautiful land stretches beyond the meadow. Water glistens in the sunlight, the grasses sway in the wind. The trees are tall and healthy, the flowers bloom regularly, and in the distance, a small town seems to thrive. Flowers bloom here all year round! Everything is picturesque, and two children come to finally see the sights, and get a little more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Everybody. This is Hyperjade.**

 **This is Absol Lhant. I love the game Tales of Graces. I enjoy the story and plenty more about it that would take time to write up here. I also really like the pokemon species absol. So imagine, seeing that the main character of Tales of Graces is Asbel Lhant. Asbel. For the first several weeks since I discovered what Tales of Graces was, I kept saying his name wrong, calling him Absol accidentally over and over.**

 **And ultimately, I get to this point here where I just had to,** **HAD to write a story about this. Please be aware that the updating schedule will be unlike the regular intervals that I currently update New Age and TAC and KatJ. It is more likely that if I have the impulse to do so, I will write a chapter for it. This means it will be less common that it updates.**

 **That in mind, I do hope you enjoy the first chapter of Absol Lhant. Read on, people.**

* * *

"Y-you're really going up there?"

Beautiful green scenery transfused with gray-white earth and stone surrounded the children. The boy standing upright stood tall and looked about the fields and trees and rocks, taking it all in. His brown hair looked like it was styled to look somewhat messy. He wore a green tunic with a lighter green vest of sorts over it. His brown pants held two large pockets on either side. He heard the voice of the other, the blue haired boy behind him, who was slightly hunched over, shivering.

The boy turned to view his brother, his pretty blue eyes meeting his brother's equally blue eyes. His brother wore a white-tan tunic and a green undershirt and red shorts, as well as a red neckerchief tied in a bow.

"Of course!" The brown haired boy exclaimed, holding his arms out in front of him as if grasping at the air before him. "Flowers bloom there all year round. Don't you want to see 'em?"

He straightened. "Come on! It'll be an adventure!"

The blue haired boy lowered his head meekly. "D-Dad's gonna be really angry if he finds out..." He tried to reason with his brother. "How many times has he told us to stay away from Lhant Hill? It's dangerous!"

His brother clenched his fists. "You think I believe a word he says?" He asked. "Don't worry, it's fine!" He turned around to examine the view again. "And besides, I'm eleven years old. I go where I want."

As the boy began to walk away, the blue haired boy quickly spoke up. "W-wait! What about Cheria? Shouldn't we invite her too?" He asked. The brown haired boy cast a sidelong glance at his brother.

"No, she can sit this one out." He decided quickly.

"What? Why!?"

"She's sick, Hubert. It would be hard on her" he defended his choice, turning fully back to his brother.

The blue haired boy, Hubert, just looked on as his brother said: "Besides, one scaredy-cat slowing me down is more than enough."

Hubert was taken aback. "Hey! That's not nice!" He protested.

"...Anyway, let's go! I wanna see what's up there!" The brown haired boy said, shifting on his feet repeatedly, almost bouncing. Then, he turned around, thrust his fist in the air for a moment, and started walking towards Lhant Hill. Hubert hesitated before racing to catch up to his brother.

But a mere minute later, they were ambushed by odd seedling-like plants, with long leaves spreading like ears from the top of the seeds. They had shambled up in a group, approaching the boys quickly.

Hubert cowered and held up two little sticks. He waited for the enemies to come closer, but his brother pulled out his still sheathed, expensive looking sword and began whacking his enemies with it, shouting 'bell ringer' and some other attack callouts as he bashed the plant-like monsters into submission.

"We're the toughest kids in town!" The brown haired boy exclaimed, one foot on a defeated monster and his still sheathed blade in the air.

"But we shouldn't be out in places like this…" Hubert protested meekly, looking around for more threats.

Instead, what the boys saw was a spring with perfectly clear water within. The water poured in from the walls, and the tiny cavernous opening was surrounded by a small canopy of vines with large leaves that left a human-sized opening for people to enter.

The brown haired boy walked over and knelt by the water. "You should try some of this spring water, Hubert!" He called.

Hubert shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not really thirsty…" he muttered.

Asbel attained a carefree smile, his hands going behind his head. "This water is **famous**! Plus, it's really good for you. So come on. Have some. You'll like it."

"W-well…" Hubert whispered "All right." He took some gulps of water he pooled in his hands. Then he straightened with a surprised and pleased smile reaching his lips. "Oh! Oh, this **is** good!"

Then he grew suspicious. "Wait… I thought you'd never been to Lhant Hill before."

"Huh, I guess Frederic knew what he was talking about after all. Here, gimmie some of that. I wanna try it." Hubert's brother said aloud, not paying attention to his brother's question.

"Hey! I'm not your guinea pig!" Hubert protested, backing away a bit. He watched his brother drink some of the water, wiping his mouth with his sleeve when he was done. Then, impulsive as he was, the brown haired boy leaped up and traveled further into the trees, having spotted something.

"Hey, somebody left a glassphere lying around." He said, holding up the shiny object. He dropped it and let it smack a flat rock near the boy's foot and bounced back almost as high up. He caught it and stuck it in his pocket. "Shame they're not worth as much as they used to be…" he muttered, emerging from the path again with his beautiful prize in his pocket.

The boys traveled up the final stretch of the small hill to discover a clearing-sized meadow spanning the top of the hill, which dropped into a cliff overlooking the water. A large tree loomed above them, swaying in the slight wind and adding to the wonderful effect of nature.

"Wow…" Hubert said.

"Whoa…" his brother said. The aforementioned brown haired sibling looked up at the tree with awe in his eyes for just a while before his brother's sudden cry of surprise drew his attention.

He turned to see the boy pointing. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Th-There's someone there!" He said, pointing into the field of flowers ahead of them a little to the right. Surrounded by butterflies, resting on her back with her eyes closed amidst beautiful yet simplistic purple flowers, was a girl with pink pigtails and a very odd outfit. Her pigtails were nearly as long as she was tall, reaching down to her ankles in the grass.

Next to her was an odd white and black flower that neither of them had seen before in their lives. Though it caught the brown haired boy's eyes quickly, it seemed entirely separate from the girl herself.

"It looks like a girl…" Hubert whispered.

His brother's attention snapped back to the girl. "Hey you!" He called. "What do you think you're doing sleeping out here?"

She suddenly sat up, causing both boys to exclaim in surprise and mild panic, before she looked up at them from her seated position, revealing lavender eyes and a slight frown as her expression.

"...I heard a voice…" she said monotonously.

"You did?" Hubert's brother asked.

"...I was asleep, at one with this place… But then I heard your voice, and I woke up. Why was I awakened?" She asked in her monotone voice. The brown haired boy looked away slightly uncomfortably.

"Well… You know it's dangerous to sleep out here…" he said.

As she failed to respond, he continued: "If you want to take a nap… Maybe you should find a bed or something."

Hubert noticed as his brother said this that the girl was instead paying attention to the random butterfly rather than them, ignoring the boy's words and standing to follow the bug like an interested child.

"Asbel!" Hubert exclaimed, using his brother's name finally. "She's headed right for the cliff!"

Asbel gasped and took off, sprinting after the girl. He felt a sting on his ankle but ignored it so that he could grab the girl's arm as she was about to step off the cliff. "Hey!" He exclaimed, surprised. "You'll fall! What do you think you're doing!?"

The girl turned to him with her odd blank expression. "Fall?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, Fall! Splat! You know what that means right?" Asbel demanded.

"No. What does it mean?" The mysterious girl asked, astonishing Asbel, who rushed to answer as Hubert began running up.

"It means… Um… Well…" Asbel trailed off as Hubert looked down the edge of the cliff and backed up, afraid. He turned to the others, gingerly holding a flower in his hand, avoiding its odd thorns. "That's a long way down… If you fell, you'd be in big trouble…"

"See? You get it now? If you fell, you'd…" Asbel trailed off as he saw the girl's blank expression. He did an about face with his arms crossed and eyes closed, looking away from the girl. "Oh, nevermind. Look, just stay away from the cliff. Understand?"

As the pinkette nodded silently, Hubert faced his brother. "So… Where do you think she's from?" He asked, "I've never seen her before." This prompted Asbel to turn around to face the girl again.

"Hey, what's your name?" He asked her. She stared at him blankly for several seconds before he smacked the bottom of his fist into his palm. "Ah. Right. That's rude. I should introduce myself first." He amended, sticking his thumb at himself. "I'm Asbel Lhant." He gestured to his brother with his other hand. "This is my little brother, Hubert."

"Hi. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hubert inserted with a slight bow.

"Sooo… Tell us your name." Asbel ventured, pointing at the girl. She looked up a bit, her eyes a little blank.

"My name?"

She looked down. "What was it? What was… My name..."

Asbel was taken aback. "Hey! Don't tell me you forgot your own name?" He said.

Hubert stepped forward. "Well then, I know. How about this? Can you at least tell us where you're from?"

"...Where I'm from?" She began looking around the flowers beneath them, her gaze settling on the purple flowers she had been lying in.

"Seriously?" Asbel asked, a little in disbelief. "You don't remember that either?"

Hubert, struck with an idea, called his brother's name. "Asbel? I wonder if maybe she has amnesia or something. They say that people with amnesia have trouble remembering things."

Asbel cast a sympathetic look at the girl. "Amnesia, huh?" He asked.

Upon receiving no answer from the girl, he attained a contemplative look. "Well, you know, Hubert… you may be right." He said.

"So… So what do we do now?" Hubert asked his older brother.

"We bring her back to town." Asbel decided.

"What?" Hubert shifted the flower he held. "Are you serious?"

Asbel ignored his brother's odd fascination with the flower. "Well, what else can we do? We can't just leave her here." He reasoned. "And besides, maybe she'll remember something once we get back."

Hubert nodded. "Oh… Yeah. I suppose that makes sense." He admitted.

Asbel called to the girl. "Hey, Why don't you come back with us?" He asked, "There's no point standing around here by yourself."

The girl nodded mutely. Asbel and Hubert shared glances. "Great. We'd better get going then." Asbel decided. He noticed The girl looking around at the field beneath them, observing all of the flowers, including the one Hubert held, before her gaze once again fell on the purple and pink flowers. "You like flowers?" He asked, stepping forward slightly. He knelt and picked one of the purple flowers. "Here. Take one for the road." He offered, holding it out to her.

She instead knelt by the flowers and picked one of her own, the same kind, looking at it. "It's just a flower, you know," Asbel said, standing up. "...You're weird. Well, nevermind. Let's go!"

He turned to his brother. "Hubert, what are you doing picking flowers?" He asked, shifting from side to side with his hands behind his head. "Never thought you'd be doing **that** of all things."

"Hey!" Hubert recognized the meaning behind the words. "I just picked it after you hurt yourself on it." Asbel started with surprise.

"Hurt myself? I feel fine." Asbel refuted, before he remembered the stabbing sensation from before, looking down at his ankle. He felt no pain, but…

The mysterious girl knelt to look closer at the wound. There was a puncture point, and some of his skin was black about a dime's radius around the wound. "What is that?" She asked.

Asbel looked at the black mark. "I… Think it's a bruise or something." He said. "It's not like it hurts at all."

He turned to his brother, seeing that the flower had oddly shaped thorns. "Geez, I'd think you would be the one clumsy enough to run into the only harmful flower in the entire meadow…" he muttered."

"Well, I didn't…" Hubert defended himself quickly. "But that bruise doesn't look too good. You should probably get it looked at."

"What?" Asbel asked, "I'm fine!"

The amnesiac girl held her hands around his ankle while the boys were distracted, her palms emitting a shining light that both boys noticed immediately. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Asbel asked, only to watch the girl pull her hands away. The puncture wound was gone. The black mark was not.

"Asbel, I think she just healed you." Hubert offered.

"Woah…" Asbel murmured, looking at his ankle. "I just have to wait for the bruising to go away and I'm good as new!"

"I'm surprised you only got poked by it…" Hubert muttered. "These thorns look more like actual blades. You could have had your ankle slashed open more than that."

"Guess I'm just lucky." Asbel shrugged carelessly. His brother couldn't argue with that, instead electing to pay attention to when Asbel grabbed the mysterious girl's arm and walk off towards the way back to town, so that he could follow without being left behind.

As they walked, the pinkette began to be a bit more talkative. "What were the two of you doing in the meadow, Asbel?" She asked.

Asbel smiled. "I'd heard flowers bloom there all year round, and I wanted to see 'em. I'm kind of an explorer like that." He responded proudly.

Hubert was struck by his mischievous side out of the blue. "That's what he likes telling everyone." He said, "But he only went there because dad said not to."

"What!? No!" Asbel denied, stepping over to the girl and speaking to her directly. "This has **nothing** to do with my father."

The mysterious girl laced her fingers. "Mm-hmm."

Asbel didn't notice the obvious disbelief in a girl who apparently had amnesia, instead electing to advance forward as if he was king of the world. He was followed by his two quiet companions as he marched onwards, heading for the main road. Considering that the Lhant Hill area was actually quite small, they emerged on the road within three minutes.

Asbel quickly pulled aside the other two to hide behind a tree as a guard looked their way. He was stationed to their right, and Lhant was to their left, and so, quiet as they could be, they started on their way down the road to Lhant until that guard was no longer in sight.

With a sigh of relief, Asbel stepped out of the trees alongside the path. Stepped out into a crowd of little yellow bird-like creatures, that is.

"Ah!" Hubert hid himself behind the sticks he used to fight as they advance forward in little hops. "Peepits!"

"They're just tiny birds, Hubert." Asbel sighed, looking at the bird that came up to his knee. He then yowled with pain as that bird struck his leg three times with its beak faster than he could react. That bird received an angry strike to the head from the sheathed sword that Asbel carried around as the boy backed off, looking at the wound on his leg.

"Imbue the light of life…" the pinkett incanted suddenly from afar, surrounded by energy. "First aid!"

The call ended with power unleashing from the girl and towards Asbel, and the boy felt a warm energy fill him before his wound promptly disappeared. He looked at it, and then down at the offending bird. "How do you like that?" He asked cockily, bringing his weapon back and bringing it down on the bird's head, causing the monster to be unconscious on the ground.

The battle started then and ended five seconds later. Mostly because the mysterious girl leaped in front of the boys, gauntlets shimmering into place on her hands. The powerful strikes and techniques she demonstrated had the boys speechless as Asbel let his sword's tip rest on the dirt. "Wow…" Hubert whispered.

The mysterious (and powerful) girl stood straight. "I think that's all of them." She said.

"Yeah…" Hubert nodded. "That's… That's all of them."

She relaxed and looked at the boys, who realized that they were standing there, slack-jawed. "We're… No longer the toughest kids in town." Asbel realized. He paused, shook his head, and continued walking, leading his companions further.

That literally lasted only five seconds before the girl spoke up once more. "There are sparkly things on the ground…" the girl noticed. Asbel looked about to see what she saw, but she must have had better eyesight than he did.

"If you search around those" he proclaimed "You sometimes find really cool stuff!"

"Why are they there?"

Asbel blinked. "Um… I dunno." He admitted.

Hubert had an idea. "I'm sure people accidentally dropped them." He explained, turning to his brother. "We should be careful not to make the same mistake. Especially you, brother. I'm tired of being blamed whenever you lose something."

"But that's… It's because you're always…"

Hubert giggled to himself as he continued on. His brother quickly moved to be in the lead again, as expected. With a mere twenty minutes past, they entered the gate to Lhant.

The peaceful and beautiful town spread around the children. A large tree laden with large apples loomed to their right and forward, a wall in the distant background spanning the other entrance to the town much like the wall they entered through. Ahead and to the left, a building with a windmill atop it was easily visible. Assorted village buildings surrounded the free space of the town of Lhant. A waterway spanned by a bridge ran to their right. The town had been built to accommodate the uneven landscape.

"So… What do we do now?" Hubert asked. His brother gave a hum and looked around, thinking about how to go about the rest of their day, when the group was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey! Asbel!"

Asbel took a look towards their side of the bridge and jerked back in a panicked, unbalanced stance. "Uh-oh!" He said shakily. "It's Cheria!"

The red haired girl in the blue and white dress put her hands on her hips. "Care to explain why you decided to leave me behind?" She asked.

Hubert took one look at her cold gaze. "Y-You're in trouble…" he whimpered. "She's really mad…"

Asbel made his decision. "Run!" He exclaimed.

"Don't you move a muscle!" Cheria exclaimed. "I'm not gonna let you run off without me again!" She continued, beginning to run forward. However, she quickly grew weak even as Asbel flinched, stopping and breathing heavily.

Asbel recognized this and rushed forward. "Hey!" He called as he ran. "Are you okay?"

As the girl huffed heavily, trying to get her breath back, Asbel reached her. "You know you shouldn't be running like that." He reprimanded her.

"You guys… Went to Lhant Hill didn't you!" She accused the trio.

Asbel, as it turns out, is an awful liar. "Uh…" he said. "Uh… Where's that?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" She exclaimed. "It's the hill where the flowers bloom all year round!" She glared at him. "You must have promised me a dozen times you'd take me with you when you went there!"

"I'm sorry." Asbel finally apologized "But look, if I brought you there, you would be too tired to walk back. And then… I'd have to carry you on my back again…"

Hubert jumped to his brother's defense. "And you always get really angry Whenever Asbel has to carry you."

Cheria stuttered. "Well that, that's just because he's so terrible at it!" The girl then broke out into a coughing fit.

"See?" Asbel asked. "What did I tell you?" He turned around and got on one knee. "Here, hop on."

The girl looked up to see him like that. "I promise I'll try to be more careful this time." He continued.

Cheria gave a heavy blush. "Th-that's all right!" She said, "I can walk on my own."

Hubert ruined the moment. "Hey, where did that girl go?" He asked, looking about. He heard Cheria behind him asking what girl he meant, but he saw the aforementioned unnamed girl standing right where she had been before. Literally having not moved a muscle.

"Why is she still back there?" Asbel asked. "Go get her, Hubert."

"Uh… Right!"

As Hubert brought the girl back to the group, Asbel asked "Hey there. So why didn't you follow us?"

She was silent for a moment, before replying: "That girl told us not to move."

Cheria, suitably confused, looked at the girl oddly. She noticed that this mysterious girl, as well as her odd, tight battle outfit or whatever it was she was wearing. "Asbel, who is this girl?" She asked the boy next to her.

"I don't know." He replied, looking back at her. "We found her on the hill and brought her back here."

"Why did you do that?"

Cheria stepped closer and began a more thorough inspection of the girl, looking at her head to toe. " _Hmm…"_ Cheria thought to herself. " _She seems a little older than me… So… Is this the kind of girl that Asbel likes?"_ Cheria was thinking about relationships while the oblivious boy was staring at the flower in his hand intently.

Then he looked up to see what was happening. "Come on, Cheria." He said "Don't stare at her like that. You two should try to be friends!" He then experienced a slight headache for a moment, and rubbed his head for a moment.

The others interpreted this as a gesture of exasperation, and continued on. Asbel didn't mention the headache at all. Cheria looked between Asbel and Hubert. "Hmph… I was wondering… Why are you two holding flowers?"

She approached Asbel quickly and Hubert recognized a devious little plot in their friend's mind that he decided to just stay out of for the moment. "Wow. It's just beautiful." She commented as she came up to him.

She fixed her innocent little girl face on. "How lovely… So did you bring this flower back… For me?"

Hubert realized that his brother was about to do something very silly, and stepped up to whisper in his ear. Asbel listened closely as his brother gave him much needed advice. "Just say it's for her! It'll make her feel better." Hubert told his brother, before backing off quick.

Asbel gave an unsure smile. "Uh… Yeah! Something like that!" He exclaimed awkwardly.

"Oh, Asbel!"

Part two of the plan initiated for Cheria. The devious girl began her hidden ultimatum: "Well, since you were kind enough to bring me a flower, I guess I can forgive you just this once." She said.

She then went on without the devious intent. "This is a sopheria, isn't it?" She asked "They don't normally bloom this time of year. I guess the stories about that place are true."

"Yeah," Asbel said somewhat shakily. "The hill had flowers blooming all over the place, like sopherias, and… Uh… Whatever the heck Hubert's got."

Cheria gave an 'aww' at the sight of the flower, before finally turning her attention to Hubert's flower. She gingerly took the plant from the boy and looked at it. "Its thorns are like sickle blades… How odd." She commented. "And I've never seen the colors alternating between black and white on any plant before. Why, even the stem has the colors swirling around it. The only other color is the seed, and it's just one red seed. What is it?"

"I-I'm not sure," Hubert admitted. "Asbel got hurt by it when he ran past it, so I've been careful to avoid the thorns."

Cheria started. "Oh, Asbel!" She exclaimed, turning to the boy "You're hurt!?"

She stepped forward, kneeling down slowly to view the previous wound while Asbel shifted slowly. "Aw, it's nothing." He said. "Just a little bruise."

Cheria stared. And stared. "What on earth do you mean **bruised**!?" She exclaimed, before launching into a coughing fit, causing Asbel to catch her before she could topple over. He grunted in surprise as he caught her.

"Cheria, what's wrong?" He asked until he saw what she was staring at. The black mark on his ankle had grown by a larger margin than before so that it now wrapped almost all the way around his ankle.

"Th-That looks really bad…" Hubert whispered, stepping back.

"I don't feel a thing, so it can't be that bad." Asbel.

"Nonsense!" Cheria exclaimed. "We're getting this to somebody quick! We've got to!"

The pinkett who stood still, watching, tilted her head. "My first aid didn't affect the dark spot." She commented, as if confused. Hubert and Cheria got similar ideas at the same time.

"Let's get you to Frederic, big brother," Hubert said, and Asbel reluctantly slumped his shoulders and followed the redhead and his brother towards a nearby house. Cheria opened the door quickly, though she was careful not to spend too much effort in case she broke down into another coughing fit, and looked inside. "Grandpa?" She called, entering and looking around a bit. "Not here…" she murmured, walking back outside.

"He's probably at the manor," Hubert said as she approached again. With the mysterious girl walking behind them, they approached the manor. An old man wearing a uniform of sorts stood at the edge of the flower garden outlining the entrance to the manor that loomed above them.

"Welcome back, Master Asbel, Master Hubert." Frederic greeted the two formally.

"Hey, Frederic!" Asbel greeted him back.

The old man turned back to Cheria. "You ran off without me again, Cheria." He told her seriously.

"I'm sorry grandpa…" she murmured.

"Please forgive her, my young masters." Frederic continued, facing the boys again. "I've instructed her that you are not to be bothered, yet she refuses my council."

Before any of the other children could speak up and say: 'Hey, Asbel's got this crazy weird injury on his ankle that's growing', Asbel cut in. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's no bother at all." He interrupted. Hubert quickly cut in as well so that Asbel couldn't sneakily excuse himself out of treatment.

"Frederic" he called "Asbel's managed to hurt himself."

"Hubert!" Asbel looked at his brother in shock. "No, uh, I'm fine. Not in pain at all." He claimed, seeing that the old man did not believe him for a single second. As if driving the point home, his headache returned momentarily, causing him to bring his hand up to his head halfway before he stopped himself, and it caused him to flinch.

"...Please, master Asbel, come inside." Frederic decided quickly, leading the children towards the door.

"Asbel, who is that?" The pinkette asked.

"This is Frederic" Asbel explained as everyone herded him along in unison. "He's a part of Cheria's family."

"...Family?"

"Y'know, moms, dads, brothers and sisters and stuff." Asbel was practically pushed up the stairs. "Hey, guys, I'll trip or something. You're overreacting." He continued, off topic. The pinkette looked confused, but she followed, intending to ask about it later.

"Mother?" Hubert knocked on his mother's door, keeping the flower where it couldn't hurt anything. "Mom, Asbel needs some help."

The door opened exactly a quarter of a second later, the woman standing in the doorway looking around until she spotted Asbel cheerfully waving at her. Obviously, she felt a degree of confusion until Cheria raised his pant leg, which covered half of the dark circle and it no longer looked like a shadow.

Needless to say, Asbel was not too comfortable in the next lengthy period of time. "Mom, I'm **fine**." He protested. "No pain, nothing."

"What did this?" She asked, ignoring her son's pleas to let him go because he felt no pain.

Hubert stepped forward. "This flower, mom." He presented the flower to him. "Please be careful around the thorns."

She looked at it. "I have never seen such a flower before." She murmured. "Perhaps your father has, and we can perhaps use it to create an antidote of sorts."

"May I take the initiative to inform lord Aston of this?" Frederic offered, receiving a quick nod. He left Asbel's bedroom, where they currently were residing as Asbel was forced to stay in bed. Asbel's mind moved at a million miles per hour, mostly because everything had kicked off and things were moving pretty fast.

His dad barged in, looking **very** unhappy, causing the boy to groan aloud. "Oh great…" he muttered, knowing he was in trouble. His dad placed the flower, which was now in a bottle except for the head to protect him from the blade-like thorns that apparently held some kind of painless poison in them.

"From fun to absolute zero in about thirty seconds." He muttered.

Hubert got out of the way as Aston loomed over the bed. "I **told** you." He growled "To stay away from Lhant Hill. Yet again, you have disobeyed me."

"Yeah?" Asbel spoke up, attitude filling his voice. "So what?"

"So what?" Aston repeated, pointing at the blackened skin on Asbel's leg. "If your brother had not put the time and effort into keeping that flower in pristine condition, we would have nothing to tell us what is wrong with you. Even then, no one has ever seen it before. You put yourself in grave danger, Asbel!"

"I keep telling everybody that it doesn't hurt!" Asbel exclaimed, exasperated.

"Whether it hurts or not is completely irrelevant!" His father shouted, dismissing the words. Asbel was silenced then when his mother spoke up.

"Asbel…" she said softly, agreeably. "You must let your father look into what the effects of the flower are so that we can counteract it."

"Even if it doesn't hurt, it's still worrying how it's spreading." Cheria pointed out, and Hubert nodded, looking worried himself. Asbel sighed and relented. Grumbling the whole way, he let his father inspect the flower and the dark spot that was spreading across his skin at an alarming rate.

"The thorns in this flower have no poison or any liquid within them," Aston said bitterly, having snapped the thorns off of the flower and checked every part of them, even grinding them up. "Nothing. And yet the dark spot originated from where the thorn pricked you…"

"We've been over this," Asbel muttered.

"The flower is almost unnatural, even." Hubert murmured, holding the now harmless flower in his hand.

"We've been over this," Asbel repeated irritably.

"Asbel, please! We're trying to help!" Cheria exclaimed.

At this point, Asbel was getting very uncomfortable. "You guys are surrounding my bed like I'm **dying** or something." He said. He ignored the urge to press his hand against his forehead, which was aching a bit again.

The others didn't exactly stop hovering. That is, until he was saved by Frederic. The old man stepped into the room. "Pardon me, Lord Aston, but you have received a letter from the capital."

Aston surprised his bedridden son by sitting in a nearby chair and holding his face in his hand, covering his eyes. "I have looked this plant up and down without finding any significant findings whatsoever. I worry that Asbel cannot be cured without a proper antidote, and I have never seen nor heard of such a thing before." He angrily said, snatching the letter away from Frederic and unfolding it quickly. He gritted his teeth.

"This is the wrong time." He growled. "Frederic, please prepare the guest room."

"Dad, what's happening?" Hubert asked.

"It appears that we are going to have a visitor from the capital," Aston said. "Kerri…"

"I will stay with him." Kerri put her hand on her husband's shoulder, before turning to sit next to Asbel on his bed. "Just tell me if you feel any pain, alright?" She asked.

Asbel couldn't say no to his mother. Waiting until his father left his room, he looked back. "I guess my head hurts a bit, but that's honestly it." He told her, looking a bit dejected.

"I'm worried about you, Asbel," Cheria told him. Her facial expression told the boy that much already, but he appreciated the gesture. Asbel laid his head back. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"Just stay calm, and tell me whenever you feel something change." His mother instructed.

"Asbel?" A voice nobody remembered was around spoke up, causing everybody to shout in surprise.

"Uh… What?" Asbel asked the pinkette, who was peering down at him.

"You look upset." She noted. "Why?"

"I'm not sad. I'm just frustrated." Asbel corrected her quickly. "Everybody's worried about me but me, and I'm the one with this growing dark spot. It's not like I'm in any large amount of pain or anything, so I don't know why I can't walk around or anything…"

"Your father took one look at it and realized that by the time we got to the capital to get you to an experienced doctor, the black spot would have completely covered your body." Kerri reminded her son. Then, the blue haired woman turned to the pinkette. "I recognize that you and Asbel know each other rather well by this time, but please tell me who you are."

The girl blinked, and her blank face changed very little. "Who I am?" She asked slowly.

"We found this girl sleeping on Lhant Hill," Hubert explained, trying to keep the emotion out of his eyes. He was in admittedly deep turmoil about what happened to his brother, what was still happening, though he didn't know how to handle it. "She seems to have amnesia. She doesn't remember who she is or where she's from."

"Oh, dear…" Kerri murmured. "This day has been very stressful. Asbel is sick, A mysterious girl appears from nowhere, and a very important visitor is coming to visit…"

She closed her eyes. "And I am unsure what to do about any of them."

"Mom, I'm fine," Asbel said. "Nothing hurts at all. My headache's gone for right now." He looked down at his leg, with the pant leg pulled up. He saw the blackened yet obviously undamaged skin reaching now up past his knee, and having spread down over his uncovered foot. "It doesn't even look sick or anything. Just… The wrong color." He continued.

Hubert couldn't find much of a way to refute that. "You're right, Asbel." He said, "It doesn't look that different."

"I will not take that chance." Kerri proclaimed. "If it is dangerous, and we cannot treat it… I don't want to lose you, Asbel." She explained, looking like she was near tears.

Asbel didn't respond at all, unable to truly think about what he might say to comfort his mother. At the back of his mind, he thought of his father, and how he had seemed angry about his trip to Lhant hill even more than he was worried about Asbel's condition. Misinterpreting his father's actions, the boy felt resentment to a degree. He knew his father cared, deep down, but it irked the boy that his father had grown angry at him over going to look at flowers.

* * *

Much later, Asbel became aware that there was a commotion downstairs. "Huh?" He asked.

The dark mark on Asbel's skin had expanded to cover a sizable portion of his body, reaching up to his neck, and covering his upper body, as well as most of his other leg and arms. Still he felt little pain at all, just his mild headaches occasionally.

"I'll take a look," Hubert said, walking to the door and out while his mother stayed where she had for the past few hours.

"Where is Hubert going?" The still unnamed pinkette asked.

"I think he just heard something." Asbel shrugged, sitting up. "Y'know, we can't just call you 'that girl' all the time." He continued.

"Asbel…" his mother murmured, unsure of how to react to how her boy was distracting himself from his own odd illness.

"Why not?" The girl asked confusedly. "Is having a name important?"

"Well…" Asbel trailed off for a moment. "Yeah. It's like… I dunno."

"It is the heart of your identity." Kerri offered.

"Right," Asbel smiled. "Thanks, mom. Uh…" he looked the girl up and down, noticing the flower held in her hand. The major color she bore being the same as the sopheria gingerly held in her right hand. An idea struck him at that moment. "How about we call you Sophie?" He offered.

The girl tilted her head. "Sophie?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Asbel gave her a smile as his mother looked on neutrally. "Sophie. Now we can call you by name."

"As long as you understand that when she remembers her proper name, you begin to use it." His mother said to him. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as his mother cast a stern look at him.

"Sophie…" Sophie murmured. "It sounds nice…"

"Great!" Asbel exclaimed as Hubert came back in.

"Dad just ran out the door with a bunch of guards," Hubert said. Frederic stepped in after the blue haired boy.

"Perhaps I can dispel any confusion." The man said. "Lord Aston has become worried, as the transport carrying our guest is long overdue. He fears that they may have met with tragedy on the road, and has gone to ensure their safety."

Asbel straightened. "Hey, maybe we can help." He said, causing all others present aside from Sophie to look taken aback.

"Absolutely not, Asbel." His mother spoke sternly. "You are sick, and it could be very dangerous."

"But what if they need help?" Asbel asked. "I still feel fine. My skin's just mostly black. So far, that's it. I'd be fine!"

"Asbel, you shouldn't be running around like that…" Hubert and Cheria tried to reason with him at the same time.

"And why not?" He asked even as Sophie took the initiative to gently push him back onto his back on the bed. "It's not like that dark spot thing grew any faster when I was moving around."

"Any moment, you might feel something else happen." Hubert murmured, hesitating. "I mean…"

Asbel grunted in annoyance. "We can't just let dad go and fight without us! We can handle ourselves in battle. Sophie and I can fight!"

Hubert blinked. "Sophie?" He asked.

"I can help." Sophie agreed.

"Absolutely not." Kerri asserted. "I will not put you at risk. Either of you. Sophie, you poor girl, you probably have a family somewhere, a life. We can work towards finding your place in the world and healing your memory. I will not send you into a battle you have no place in."

Asbel, having developed protective feelings for the girl, as he did for everyone, could see the logic in his mother preventing Sophie from going, and he realized that nobody was about to let him leave this room. He knew that his father could handle the monsters around the town on his own with his exceptional swordsmanship skills.

So he laid down and rest for several hours until Frederic announced that Asbel's father had returned with the convoy, safe. Asbel and everyone else managed to lose the tension in their shoulders upon knowing that the exhausting mental journey of sorts was over.

Aston walked into the room to discover that the black mark had spread up the right side of Asbel's face, curving around his cheek to the side of his eye, and the mark had begun to reach his wrists. He gritted his teeth at the sight, and turned to everyone. "Prince Richard is our guest, and we cannot be seen to show him the slightest disrespect." He told everyone sternly. "Asbel, Hubert, Cheria… And you, odd girl, are not to go anywhere near him. Do you understand?"

"He's staying in our house and I don't even get to **meet** him?" Asbel asked.

"Do you **understand**?"

Asbel sighed. "Yes, father." He grumbled. "I bet this is about the growing black mark thing."

"It is starting to look kind of frightening…" Cheria whispered. Hubert nodded in agreement.

Aston sighed. He walked over and sat at his son's bedside. He did not move from that position for quite a long time, which weirded Asbel out a bit. Eventually, he had to break the awkward silence. "I guess all you needed to keep me down was a little illness, huh?" He half quipped, half seriously spoke.

Aston felt an imaginary stab to the chest, and he looked away. He reminded himself mentally that his household regulations were in his sons' best interest. And he reminded himself that his wife often told him that when Asbel grew up, he would understand better. Children are prone to resent restrictions, she would tell him. " _Eventually, every boy will calm down and see sense."_ He recalled her saying.

If his son got to grow up in the first place. He might be looking at his own sudden demise in this sickness, and the flower had provided absolutely nothing that might help him learn how to counteract whatever poison the boy had in him.

Aston got up and picked the thornless flower out of its container, staring it down. Its red seed was gone, but that was of little consequence. The flower caused this illness, so it could not possibly lead to a cure, and experimenting could make it worse. Aston was lost in his thoughts, unsure of what to do with this flower. " _This is all too soon."_ He thought bitterly.

"D-Dad?" Hubert asked. Aston felt another stab at his younger son's voice. He would have to contact Oswell, and call off their meeting for another time, or perhaps never hold that meeting. Guilt raced through him at the sound, but he answered anyways.

"Yes, Hubert?" He asked, putting the flower back.

"Is Asbel going to be okay?" He asked, now very worried.

Aston sighed. "I don't know." He answered honestly. I bought it up with the guards from Barona. None of them had even heard of such an affliction. Two of those men had rather impressive medical training individually, to my surprise. No information on this flower or the black mark spreading across Asbel's skin."

"Oh…" Hubert whispered, clutching his hands together in front of him and shivering slightly. Cheria, hearing this, followed Kerri's example and took Asbel's free hand.

"Geez, you guys are acting like I'm going to die any second," Asbel muttered. "Seriously, I'm fine. I've been fine this whole time. And that headache's not even shown up in the last thirty minutes or so."

"Die?" Sophie asked, tilting her head.

Aston turned to the girl, and Hubert quickly intervened. "This girl has amnesia, dad." He said, finally introducing her. "We've nicknamed her Sophie until she gets her memory back."

"...I see." Aston replied shortly, understanding the girl's failure to understand the word 'die'.

"I'm not going to die, Sophie," Asbel assured her, although with everybody hovering over him, he was starting to experience some doubts of his own.

"What does it mean?"

Asbel looked her in the eye, trying to decide how to say it gently. "When someone dies… You won't be able to talk to them anymore." He decided to say. "Nobody can. Everything but their body disappears."

" _Well said, Asbel."_ Aston complimented the boy in his mind. His son must have gained some perspective right in these moments. Perhaps in the face of this, if he survived, Asbel would be more responsible, more understanding of danger and when to avoid it.

Sophie clutched at her chest. "I… I don't know why, but my chest feels heavier…" she said, "Why does my chest feel heavier?"

"I think you're feeling sad." Hubert tried to explain.

"...Sad?"

"Still alive over here…" Asbel muttered.

"Sadness is difficult to explain." Asbel's mother murmured. "It is… A form of emotion that is your heart reaching out, grasping at something it cannot have that it desperately needs. If you feel sad about the death of someone, then you clearly care about them as they live."

Sophie went silent, holding her chest with her hand. "Can I feel sad if I still have what I need?" She asked.

"Fear can lead to sadness before the thing, or person, is lost," Kerri said after a moment. "The fear of losing someone… It is preemptive sadness."

"I don't like this feeling…" Sophie murmured, looking at the flower in the jar. She walked over, and after a moment, slipped the sopheria she held into the jar next to it.

"Oh, please not the bouquet…" Asbel said, Groaning "Can you at least wait until something happens to make a bouquet?"

Cheria closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Asbel. We're just so worried." She explained. "Afraid."

"Well, I would like it if you guys pretended I was still alive until I'm not, okay?" Asbel asked, exasperated. Everyone realized how they were acting soon enough and nodded in agreement.

"...What's a bouquet?" Sophie asked.

An hour later (it took a surprisingly long time to explain to Sophie what exactly made a bouquet a bouquet), there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Prince Richard requests entry." The guard outside surprised Aston and everyone else.

"Of course," Aston replied immediately, followed by the door opening. A young boy with blond hair entered the room, looking around.

"I was informed that your son was sick," Richard explained. "I felt it was necessary to offer my condolences…." He trailed off, having seen Asbel sitting on his bed, the black mark covering half of his face. "...I see."

"Oh, come on," Asbel complained, gesturing at the prince. "Even he thinks I'm dying."

"Asbel." Aston quickly intervened, before settling. "We greatly appreciate you putting such time into visiting Asbel as well as Lhant in general. I cannot apologize enough for the seemingly unwelcome introduction to our home. I hope to show that neither I nor any other mean you the slightest disrespect."

"I understand," Richard replied slowly, nodding. He was unnerved by Asbel's half dark-skinned face, as it severely contrasted in color. "And I apologize for intruding, and as it seems, for irritating your son by acting as though he was in grave danger."

"He's just getting that message a lot today." Hubert pointed out from one of the books he had out, researching poisonous flowers in the hopes of finding a cure of sorts. He read though the pages faster than Asbel had ever seen him.

As he traced his finger down each page, he looked more and more subdued.

"I see." Richard nodded in understanding. "At any rate, it was a pleasure to meet you." He continued, although it sounded more forced, more like an obligatory goodbye. "After my training with Bryce, I believe the plan my knights developed is to stay the night."

"We have prepared our guest room for you." Aston bowed to the prince. "I hope you find it to your liking. Forgive me if I do not leave this room often."

"I understand perfectly. Thank you for allowing me into your home." Richard replied, turning away and walking out of the room.

Aston turned to his son, surprised that the boy did not cause more of a scene than he did. He then saw his son frowning in the direction of the now closed door, rubbing at the area around his ear. "Asbel?" He asked, growing worried.

Asbel stared off into space for a moment until he registered the words. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Dad. Just got a weird feeling when he was talking. When he said 'Bryce', actually."

"What kind of feeling?" Aston asked, nearing his son.

"I… I dunno. I just feel… I think somebody should keep an eye on whoever Bryce is." Asbel said slowly, almost distantly, rubbing the right side of his head. Then, he snapped to attention. "Sorry." He muttered. "I'm fine again."

"If you are certain," Aston replied. He was confused. His son had sudden suspicions about somebody he had never met… That was uncertain, for a start, but the way he had rubbed his head implied that he actually had felt something more physical at the word 'Bryce'. "If you feel strange again, let us know immediately." He ordered, moving away for the time being.

Hubert set down the book slowly. It was closed, the back cover lying up. "Nothing." He said softly. "Not a single flower in that book matched this one, and not a single one showed even remotely similar symptoms."

His mother put her hand over her mouth at the words. She looked at the other books Hubert had gone through, and had found nothing in. Had such an illness been discovered before, or even a flower of that sort, it would have been documented **somewhere** , but these book copies seemed to hold nothing. It was barely believable at all.

The dark coloring spread further across the boy's face, leaving his fingers and about a third of his face untouched. Kerri looked closely at her boy's eyes, seeing that his right eye had bright red flecks amid the blue, which she had never seen. It was not blood, definitely not, but his eye color was changing as well.

Then something else became apparent to her. Asbel's hair where the dark mark had reached it was beginning to change from its brown color to white.

"Hang on, my hair's going **white**?" Asbel asked incredulously as his mother mentioned it "Crap! I liked having brown hair!"

"How is that your reaction?" Cheria asked incredulously.

"You still underestimate the severity of this situation," Aston told his son.

"Asbel says he is not in pain," Sophie interjected. "And he doesn't look like he's in pain."

"Thank you, Sophie!" Asbel exclaimed theatrically. Hubert and Cheria found themselves giggling at his tone and at the way he waved his arms.

Sophie gained a smile and she laced her fingers near her chin. "You're welcome, Asbel" she looked between the two of them, and Asbel's mother recognized the look on the young girl's face.

"Cheria-" she started, feeling that this was not the time for this. However, Asbel interrupted.

"I can't get my mind off this Bryce…" he muttered, rubbing the right side of his head again. "Who is he, actually?"

"He is one of the ones assigned to protect prince Richard," Aston replied. "He is not of our concern."

"Then why do I have this feeling?" Asbel asked, uncertain.

"He would not be allowed near the prince unless he was heavily trusted by the king himself," Aston told his son, who hesitated before nodding to his father quietly. He took his hand away from his head and lay back on the bed again.

"I'm bored…" he muttered ten minutes later. "Think I could walk around a bit? Anywhere?"

"Not to Lhant hill." Hubert joked. Asbel laughed in response, grateful for his brother's attempt to help his mood.

Cheria giggled. "I'm sure he'd find trouble padlocked into a room with a feather and a pebble." She added.

Asbel faked indignance. "Hey!"

"Or in a meadow." Sophie jumped in.

"Huh!?" All the kids in the room said, looking at Sophie in surprise. Nobody had expected an attempt at a joke. Sophie looked at them blankly, almost causing the lot of them to think they had been hearing things.

And after that, there was basically nothing else to do. Asbel was allowed to at least stand up and walk around for a while, and like he thought, the dark spot did not grow any faster than before. His other eye gained red flecks of color within his blue eyes, but he never lost the mostly blue color.

Aside from that. His brown hair turned white, and his skin was jet black. Everyone kept staring at him as if waiting for something else to happen, something worse. But he kept claiming that he was fine. Even his headaches were gone.

"I'm going to do… Something." Asbel decided, and nobody tried to stop him from exiting the room. They did, however, follow him at their own intervals. "I dunno."

"You can't really go outside like that." Hubert pointed out.

"I know," Asbel muttered. "That flower is the ultimate fun killer. Who knows, maybe it'll wear off later or something."

The boy walked over and looked at the family portrait at the staircase. "Heheheh…" he chuckled sheepishly. "That's weird to think about."

"Your colors just flipped. That's all, right?" Cheria asked.

"I guess so." Asbel shrugged, and walked further down the stairs to the lower floor. He looked left to the door where he knew Richard might be, and then right to his father's likely empty office. He decided to walk to the window to look out of it, seeing the garden and fountains that adorned the front to his house.

There, he saw Richard, breathing heavily with his wooden weapon in hand, as a man stood opposite him, seeming to be just fine. His eyes narrowed at the sight.

Aston stepped up to Asbel's side. "Asbel?" He asked.

"Richard doesn't look like he feels good," Asbel said slowly. "And I don't think he's just in pain."

"Are you one to talk?" Aston asked irritably. "Richard must practice with a blade to protect himself."

Cheria came up next to him. "Asbel's right." She announced. "Richard's sweating a lot, and breathing hard."

"Like Cheria does when she moves around a lot." Hubert put in.

"Yeah." Cheria was glad Hubert was playing along. "It's worrying me, too."

Kerri was compelled to look out the window alongside Frederic, who had heard the children's' analysis. "Oh dear… He does look exhausted." She said.

Asbel rushed over to one of Richard's guards, who was doing… Something. "Hey, mister!" He called, causing the man to turn around and nearly jump out of his skin at the sight of the oddly colored boy. "Does Richard usually get super tired during training sessions?"

After the man recovered, his hand on his chest, he registered Asbel's question and turned to the window. "...No," he replied smoothly. "He appears more exhausted than usual. Bryce must be working the boy very hard."

He turned to Asbel. "The other knights will stop him if they believe Richard is no longer in a condition to train without risk to himself, I promise you." He gave a slight smile underneath his mask, before going back to what he seemed to be doing.

Asbel was almost pacified. Almost. But he didn't say anything yet. He had a brilliant (probably stupid), sudden (it had been building for almost twelve minutes), reasonable (in no way reasonable) idea, but with everybody watching him like hawks (for good reason), he could not implement the idea.

So the first thing to do was get everybody's eyes off of him.

Asbel smirked to himself and started talking to Sophie. "Hey, Sophie." He started, bringing her attention to him. "What do you think of the house?"

"He really **is** bored," Hubert whispered.

Sophie looked around at the walls. "What I think?" She asked. Asbel then started asking questions using words she did not recognize and spent ages trying to explain things to her. This caused the rest of the group to start to really, truly want to go do something they probably should be doing instead of staring at Asbel to make certain he didn't keel over.

Aston eventually thought of the many papers he had to work with, looked at the door to his study, and sighed. "Sophie." He distracted the girl, who seemed to be learning a lot at least. "If Asbel seems to be in pain, alert me immediately."

"Okay," she said, and Aston went into his study. Kerri nodded to Asbel and Sophie and left to stay with Aston and perhaps help him with his work. Asbel waited until Frederic walked into the study himself before he leapt into action.

"Alright!" He exclaimed in a whisper-yell. The others looked at him, startled, but he made his way for the front door. "And we're off."

"Asbel, Dad's not gonna be happy with you." Hubert protested.

"Let him be mad" Asbel replied quickly. He turned the knob. "Richard's out there, and he's not feeling good. I'm not just gonna sit around and let him be made to work a bunch. It'd be like making Cheria carry a bunch of stuff around!"

The other children, Sophie included, followed the boy as he made his way to the center of the ring of flower beds and fountains to where Bryce and Richard were sparring. Something about walking towards Bryce really put Asbel off.

"Hey." He greeted the two, causing Bryce to jump in surprise at the sight of the boy, looking him up and down.

As Bryce attempted to collect himself much like the last guard, Asbel turned to Richard. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" He asked. Richard was breathing heavily, and he coughed once.

That was all Asbel needed. "Hey, if Richard's not feeling good, he shouldn't be forced to train!" He exclaimed in Bryce's direction.

Richard stepped back, surprised. Bryce glared at the boy. "This training is of the utmost importance!" He exclaimed in return, attempting for a stern tone. Asbel crossed his arms in defiance.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he gets sick after you've pushed him around that much," Asbel said.

"Whoa…" Hubert said loudly enough for Asbel to hear. "It's almost like Asbel's being responsible or something."

"I heard that, Hubert," Asbel muttered, slumping a bit, but then he stood tall and faced Bryce. "I am in good condition. I will take Richard's place in his training!" Everyone in the room made various noises of surprise, shock, and-slash-or worry.

"You?" Richard asked, staring at the white-haired boy.

Bryce managed a smirk. "All right then." He decided "Though I fear you will end up regretting those words before long." He had no weapon on him.

"Where is your sword?" Asbel asked, having procured a wooden blade meant for sparring from no discernable place.

"I have no need to arm myself against a mere child," Bryce responded cockily.

"I can't fight an unarmed man." Asbel asserted. "It would be shameful for a knight to do so."

Bryce put his arms behind his back. "It seems our little swordsman is afraid of losing." He decided. "In that case, I must insist that Richard take this lesson after all." Asbel's eyes hardened and he held his blade at the ready. Many things about this man screamed 'danger' to Asbel. He wasn't about to let Richard keep on brawling with him. "Very well." Bryce amended "Prepare yourself!"

Bryce darted forward, and Asbel's senses kicked into high gear. Bryce was coming in low, and he knew the strike would send him flying out and onto his back. The boy tried to react to this premonition of pain, but only managed to reduce the impact of the blow, merely staggering rather than being thrown. "Oh, is the little knight done already?" Bryce asked.

"Raaaaargh!" Asbel shouted, racing forward and attempting two strikes on the man, who swiftly stepped out of the way of the attacks.

"Too slow! Are you even trying, boy?"

Asbel's eyes narrowed. "Damn it!" He exclaimed, bolting forward again and delivering a slash, grazing the man's shoulder before he could think to avoid it. Bryce jumped back, alarmed.

"What!?" He exclaimed. He quickly calmed and stood tall. "So. The little knight has some skill after all." He said. "But this ends now!" Bryce brought his hand around, and a device was on it that Asbel was certain had not been there before. The man swung it forward, and the claw extended from the hand grip. Three menacing metal claws hung in the air before Asbel.

Asbel could only think: " _I knew it. He is dangerous."_

"Stop this at once!" A man shouted from the doorway. Both turned to see a knight standing there, upset with what he found happening right outside the manor.

Asbel rose and wiped his brow, playing it cool. "Wow." he said, "Real knights are strong!" He strode forward, addressing Bryce directly. "Thank you for the lesson." He told the man "Also, please forgive my earlier insolence. I hope you will let me spar with you again."

Hubert and Cheria stared. "Asbel actually sounds grown up," Hubert noted.

As Asbel turned towards them, hearing the words and feeling a surge of pride, he saw Cheria with her hands covering her mouth. "That fight must have scrambled his brains." She said.

Asbel blushed and shook his head. "Hey, knock it off!" He scolded the other children. "True knights are polite and honorable. If a fellow knight agrees to train you, they deserve your thanks. Even I know that."

The knight at the door walked up between Bryce and Asbel. "So you want to become a knight?" He asked.

"Yes, sir!" Asbel replied enthusiastically. "More than anything!"

The man looked him in the eye, undisturbed by the red flecks within the boy's blue eyes. "You have some talent with a sword." He told the boy "Once you get older, I wager the knights would be proud to have you."

"R-Really!?"

The knight turned to Bryce with a disapproving glare. "You should be ashamed, Bryce." He growled. "There is no honor in provoking a child."

Bryce turned fully to the man and gave a formal bow. "I apologize, sir." He replied.

"I will take over Master Richard's training from this point forward. You may join the other guards inside." He continued.

Asbel started. "Hey-..." he started, but the knight turned to him.

"Don't worry." He assured Asbel with a smile. "I will not have Master Richard do anything beyond what he should be doing considering his condition."

Asbel nodded. "Thank you, sir." He said, turning to Richard. He gave the prince a childish smile and a wave before the knight turned and said something to Richard before he left along with Bryce. Asbel mentally patted himself on the back until a chill ran through him. He fixed his gaze on Bryce. Why did the man continue to seem dangerous to him?

Hubert ran up to Asbel. "He said you have talent!" He cheered, smiling happily. "Imagine, my big brother, joining the knights!"

"Come on, Hubert, knock it off," Asbel said, closing his eyes for a moment.

"That was amazing, Asbel!" Cheria called to the boy, who smiled as he stood there in thought. He opened his eyes and approached Richard.

Asbel smiled a little bigger. "I'm just glad that Richard won't be forced to practice when he's not feeling good." He explained.

"Amazing…" Richard murmured, almost to himself.

"Well, since the lesson's over and we're already outside, why don't I show you something co-" Asbel started to offer.

" **Asbel Lhant!** "

Asbel froze, and turned, finding the knight from before with a mildly apologetic look on his face, and Aston himself looming over the boy angrily. "Aw…" he started.

* * *

 **Bang!**

"...Crap." Asbel muttered a second time, looking at his closed and locked door to his room with his parents standing in front of it. "Triple security…"

"Do you understand what you have done?" Aston growled.

"Helped a friend?" Asbel asked cheekily "Told a knight off for overworking a kid who didn't feel good?"

"You walked out in broad daylight and entered a battle when you yourself were sick!" Asbel's father exclaimed.

Kerri, ever the voice of calm, spoke up. "We understand that you were trying to help your friend." She tried to pacify the boy "But had you been more urgent, you could have convinced another who is not at risk to do quite the same thing."

"Well…" Asbel muttered, watching his father look between Kerri and their son "I didn't think of that, but still! It didn't seem to me that anybody was going to wind up helping. And I don't like making a fuss. I just do stuff and it works out."

Aston rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "This was incredibly irresponsible." He told the boy "Despite the good things that came out of it, I will not allow you to put yourself at risk for the sake of it!"

"And why not?" Asbel asked, "If you're so sure I'm gonna die anyways!"

"You are not going to die." His mother refuted. "I feared that at first, but you have not changed further, and your headaches stopped… I feel that there is no longer a danger. Even so… Asbel… " she trailed off.

"You will obey me." Aston asserted.

"Yeah, yeah." Asbel muttered "Just get off my case, Dad. I helped Richard."

Aston growled and swept straight out of the room. Kerri smiled down at her son. "Please, Asbel, don't be so hard on your father." She pleaded softly. "He only wants what is best for you."

"What a way to show it…" Asbel muttered.

"I agree that he can seem overbearing now." His mother agreed "But I promise you, when you are older, you will understand **exactly** how your father feels. His protectiveness is the root of his actions, not his anger. Promise me, Asbel, that you will try to see it that way."

Asbel looked his mother in the eye, having listened, wanting to show her that he meant what he said. "Okay, mom. I promise."

"Now get some sleep early, Asbel. In the morning, we will see how you are feeling and if any danger has passed. I may wake you during the night if I fear anything is going wrong." Asbel's mother promised. "I will stay here with you and Hubert tonight."

"Okay, mom."

Hubert was allowed into the room. The blue haired boy explained to Asbel that Cheria had been bought home by Frederic by this time, and so the Lhant family and Richard and his guards were the ones in the house.

Seeing the sun starting to near the land in his vision, Asbel relented and went to sleep. His mother, in a very comfortable couch, nodded off near his bed. Hubert, for his part, quietly put all of the large books he got out about flowers and stowed them all away in their proper places, including the ones that he had to take to his father's study. As he handed those books back to his father, he informed Aston that the three of them were intending to sleep.

Aston was not surprised to hear the kind and gentle boy ask whether he would be getting sleep as well. "I cannot as of yet," Aston told Hubert. "I have many things to prepare for tomorrow that I failed to prepare today. Despite the… Insanity of today's events, my deadlines have not and likely will not change."

"Okay, dad." Hubert nodded apologetically. "It's hard to imagine my brother with the patience to do that kind of thing in the first place."

"He will have to come around someday," Aston replied.

"Yeah…" Hubert trailed off. "...well, good night, dad."

"...Good night, son."

Aston watched the boy leave, his gaze softening. He slowly stepped over to his desk, laden with paperwork. The first thing on the table was a piece of paper with little writing on it. 'Dear Mr. Oswell' was written there.

Staring at the page, and then at the door, Aston's soft gaze returned to frustration, and he gritted his teeth. He forced himself to sit down and pick up his writing utensil

* * *

Lady Kerri opened her eyes slowly, a sound reaching her ears. Tense, she sat up in her chair as quietly as she could. The woman saw her boy shifting on his bed.

Horror reached her eyes when she heard a soft moan. The woman shot out of her seat to approach the boy. In light candlelight, she saw something terrifying.

 **Fur** had begun spreading rapidly over her son's body, having already covered most of him. Lady Kerri gripped her son in panic, seeing the boy squirm in the candlelight with a strained expression on his face.

"Asbel!" She shrieked, instantly waking Hubert the next bed over. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and giving a soft moan.

"Mom, what's wrong?" He asked sleepily. Asbel was not waking up, to Kerri's horror.

What frightened the two of them even further was that Asbel seemed to be shrinking. With actual fur and his hair length changed to match that fur, the boy developed several physical changes. They could only watch, helpless, as Asbel's face stretched into a muzzle about as long as a cat's. Hubert recalled the sickle-shaped thorns of the flower as a sickle-shaped blade began to grow into place on the right side of Asbel's head.

He shrunk further, and his hands began morphing into actual paws, developing sharp claws in the process.

"Asbel!" Kerri tried to wake her son, shouting as loudly as she could. The shriek of fear resonated through the manor as both Hubert and his mother watched Asbel's transformation complete itself, his legs snapping backwards, his arms shifting fully into forelegs, and with a final motion, Asbel shrunk to be no more than the size of a slightly grown up puppy, larger than the average cat, but not by much.

Asbel's expression turned to one of calm, remaining asleep even as his mother called his name.

And he remained asleep until Sophie, who had seemingly fallen asleep somewhere outside the room, literally bashed the door down to get in as Aston followed her.

Asbel slowly gathered his consciousness. A warm light filled his vision, making him feel safe. Calm and collected for the moment, not even grumpy from being woken up. He opened his eyes to see many faces staring back at him as Sophie's hands glowed, filling him with warmth.

"Hey, Sophie." He said. "Hey, Hubert. Mom, dad. What's up"

"Asbel, why are you smaller?" Sophie asked, recognizing the boy's voice. He blinked his mostly blue eyes at her and looked down.

Everybody waited with bated breath, until…

" **Aaaaaaaaack!** "

* * *

"Yep. That's pretty much what I expected." Hubert admitted. "His reaction, I mean."

It had been ten minutes of sheer panic. The royal guards had barged in and learned what happened. Seeing a boy turned into an odd creature was very disconcerting.

Aston stared at his son, who had pretty much collapsed onto his bed, staring at his paws. Literally everything about their lives had changed. Aston could see that now.

Asbel had become a creature that resembled both a dog and a cat in different ways, with a solid piece on his forehead, perhaps the cause of the headaches, and a blade-like horn from the side of his face that Asbel had rubbed whenever he started talking about the feeling he got looking at Bryce.

"W-what am I?" Asbel finally asked. But… Nobody could answer him. Nobody.

"...What am I?" He asked again, almost desperately. His mother, relieved that he was still alive, wrapped Asbel in a tight hug, afraid that if she let go, he might just disappear.

* * *

 **Well, that seemed stressful. Yes, I did indeed just make a transformation last almost the entire chapter. You're welcome?**

 **But yes, I realized as I wrote that this event would shift the entire story, essentially. As things go on, the story will deviate quite a bit.**

 **I do not know how often this will update, but I do intend to continue it over time. I wanted to start with the first chapter so that I might actually remember it exists and to continue doing it. The updates will be fewer and further in between.**

 **That all being said, please tell me your first impressions of the story. I am excited to continue this one, just like the rest of the stories I have on my profile. Thank you, all of you, for reading. Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone, and once again welcome to Absol Lhant. I decided to do one of these chapters. However, I could not bear to pad it out more than I had, so I left it at less than 10k words this time.**

 **I want to jump straight into reviews today, and hopefully, you can all enjoy this next chapter.**

 **West, the general plot of the game would be extremely difficult to ignore. Unlike my main three stories, The Absolite Chronicles, New Age: World of Pokemon, and The Kitsune and the Jackal, Tales of Graces is not open-ended canonically, or in KatJ's case against, it has a 'canon'. Thus, the plot of the game itself will have to be followed to a certain degree. However, I do intend to veer off from the original game's path, perhaps trying to solve the plot with a different path. If I can't decide how to do that, then I will attempt to show just how different it is with Asbel being an absol.**

 **Absol senses, however, are totally open ended. and I've felt free to take the liberty of making them work however I like in each universe I write about... As long as those senses are consistent in how they work. Obvious villain placement is obvious, but I'll let the chapter demonstrate how said obvious villain works.**

 **Aww... Who wouldn't want to be unproductive for weeks, West? C'mon...**

 **...My jesting aside, it's our guest's turn. Hello, Guest. I do recommend watching the playthrough of Tales of Graces, because Ramza411 I find extremely entertaining in that playthrough. However, if you are someone who does not wish to be burdened with spoilers, then feel free to wait on that until a time way in the future when this story is complete. Way in the future. It's a very long game. Now, I can tell you that Asbel is currently very small because he is young. And I am playing with age-related stuff to make it work that way because... Just because. Anyways, a grown up absol in this story will probably be recognized officially when the story shows adult Asbel, but I do feel that the official height would be more appropriate in this instance than what I did with TAC and New Age, which was make them more like two feet, typical medium dog size. I have to put into consideration exactly how big Asbel will be as an adult, but by the time it's relevant, I'll have made my decision.**

 **That, Ddragon21, is a spoiler.**

 **And Firesgone... Believe me, Tales of Graces is one of my favorite games plot-wise. While my favorite game truly remains Recoil for PC by Zipper Interactive, that game's plot was kind of meh to me. Like 'Machines have taken over the world and clones are driving all their tanks, blow everything up!' kind of thing. But Tales of Graces... Definitely more in depth than that. I love the game for its plot, and the combat system looks awesome (and I say it that way because I'm too lazy to actually play it.)**

 **I look forward to providing the story for you.**

 **That's that. Let's begin chapter two of Absol Lhant!**

* * *

Chapter 2

A solemn silence reigned in the house of Lhant.

Richard had woken in his room and was being kept in there. At this point, he would not have stayed away, considering he believed he owed a debt to Asbel for the boy's attempt to help him, but his personal guard was preventing him from leaving the room in case the disease of sorts could spread.

Richard was at a loss. He had not intended to do very much in his night, intending instead to treat it almost like an inn, where he would sleep, and then move on. Too used to betrayal and danger from everyone he came in contact was he to attempt much more.

Richard wondered what was currently going on up there, despite his instincts warning him to just go about his business. His personal guard had in fact informed him that Asbel, whose skin had been changing while Richard was there, had promptly and inexplicably morphed into some kind of animal, likely a second stage to whatever frighteningly swift illness he had acquired. Both Richard and his closest personal guard had the distinct feeling that Richard's father would not appreciate getting his son back and finding that he was some kind of animal.

He learned through conversations with his guard that Asbel could still speak, that he was slightly larger than the size of the average cat, possibly in accordance with his age, and that he his panic had subsided quickly for confusion and concern for his future.

So Richard attempted to go to sleep. The sickness had a quick onset, and had apparently originated from a flower. He suspected that if the rest of the family up there was not in the same state by morning, there would be no danger in visiting the boy. Perhaps then he could offer his condolences.

* * *

"..."

Silence rang in everybody's ears as Asbel tested his body to figure out whether he could move. Hubert had been in such a state of shock that occasionally words slipped out of his mouth, either about the impossibility of this entire thing, or rather poorly thought out comments. Now, he sat silently and fiddled with his fingers, his head down.

Lady Kerri had been crying initially, but Asbel was acting just like he normally would. It seemed to her that her son was out of danger, but at what cost? Asbel had eventually squirmed out of her grip because according to him, he could hardly breathe with her crushing him in that hug.

Aston could not help but think of his letter to Mr. Oswell. After the initial shock, he realized that he had other matters to attend to that were far more important than a simple meeting. He would have to call off the meeting with an explanation as to why. He would do so happily, considering the consequence of the potential choice, but with a harsh feeling he could hardly describe because of the reason himself.

Sophie had gotten no explanation as to what had happened. She hadn't spoken up yet, but she had begun to think that nobody was going to explain to her why Asbel was suddenly like this.

Asbel himself was moving his new limbs slowly, turning his right foreleg to feel the fur on his left foreleg with his paw. Like the others, he was in some sort of state of shock, hardly believing what he was seeing and feeling. His head was tilted as a result of the weight that the horn on his head provided. He muttered an extremely quiet, almost mouthed complaint as he forcefully righted his head again.

"Asbel? What's wrong?" Sophie asked, as if she had heard him perfectly. Everyone tensed up again and Lady Kerri nearly leapt into action on the spot, but Asbel shook his head.

"It's fine. This horn thing's just making my head tilt all the time." he muttered, "How'd you even hear me?"

Sophie gave him a blank stare, and everyone sighed with relief that there was no sudden danger. Lady Kerri practically fell over, as she had accomplished half of a leap to aid her eldest son. Aston swiftly caught her, frowning. "We are all far too high strung." he muttered, "We must think rationally."

"That's the problem, dad!" Hubert exclaimed, "There's nothing rational about this!"

Aston flinched, thinking that Hubert was correct. Nothing seemed rational any longer when a **flower** could do this to his son, unbalancing their entire lives, possibly forever. He had to think of something sensible to do, right away.

"...I will send several vague letters to the best healers I know of, asking them what they would do in the face of such symptoms." Aston decided "And I will omit any names from the letter as well. Perhaps I will receive a confirming response, at which point we will find out whether we can fix Asbel."

Lady Kerri slowly nodded and stood up. "That is a very good idea." she murmured in agreement. "However, tonight, we must all rest."

"Kerri-..."

"I am aware of the timetable we set, Aston." Lady Kerri admonished the man before he could continue further "And we will manage it. But if we must put it aside, then we shall."

Aston stole a glance at Hubert, and then Asbel. "...Very well. We shall get some sleep." he agreed. "Asbel, if at any point, you feel further change, simply alert us. I don't care how loud you have to be."

"Gee, you usually hate it when I go yelling at the top of my lungs." Asbel joked, managing a smile. Aston stared at the boy, or rather, the unidentified species that was his son. His heart clenched as he flinched. Even in the worst of times, Asbel could make a joke?

"Asbel, are you taking this seriously?" Aston asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, duh." Asbel rolled his eyes. "I mean, I don't even know what I **am**."

"Then what could possibly possess you to joke and banter?" Aston demanded.

Asbel quieted down for a bit, considering. "Uh… Probably because instead of being in danger, I was just changing." he offered, although he sounded slightly uncertain. "I mean, I'd be really scared right now if I thought I was in danger or something, or… Well…"

Asbel trailed off, turning his paw over to look at the pad. His body was surprisingly versatile for an animal form. He could not grab things, writing would be impossible… He couldn't do all of the duties a lord would do and he could not wield a sword. Who would follow an animal? And who would accept an animal into the knight academy? Asbel knew that he should be feeling very scared about his future. He at least should be worried.

Yes, he was worried, but there was a certain degree of calmness to it, a sort of reservation. As if he knew he was going to be stuck like this. He almost said that aloud, but one look at his father convinced him otherwise. He didn't need to get into a shouting match with his father, all things considered. His mother's words about Aston rang in Asbel's mind, and he tried to see for himself. Aston's gaze was stern as always, his scowl one that looked to Asbel like simple frustration, as if this was all some sort of inconvenience.

Asbel couldn't look at that expression very long before he mentally grumbled and shifted from a sitting position into a lying position on his belly. "I'm beat," he said.

"Me too…" Hubert murmured, rubbing his eyes. He looked apologetically at Asbel. "I would like to help… But I don't know how."

"Eh, you're fine," Asbel assured his brother, closing his red and blue eyes. Even as the family shared their 'good night's and 'sleep well's, Sophie remained standing and watching Asbel.

"Asbel?" she finally asked once Lady Kerri had sat down and began to rest.

"What is it, Sophie?" he asked tiredly.

"Why do you look different?"

Hubert overheard the question from his bed and could not help but smile. Amnesia was probably a very scary affliction, but the innocence Sophie displayed was certainly enough to help lighten the mood. Asbel shook his head in exasperation. "I dunno, Sophie. I think it was the thorns on that flower that got me when we first met you," he replied.

Sophie looked away at the now thornless flower in its position on the dresser. "The… Flower?" she asked, walking over to it and picking it up. Then she froze, her eyes widening slightly.

Asbel tried to scramble into a sitting position, instead falling over. "Sophie?" he asked.

"This flower… It has a strange energy." she murmured. "It feels warm…"

Asbel blinked. "Warm, huh?" he asked.

"Is that strange?"

Asbel moved to walk over and see what she meant, but instead he tripped and toppled straight off the bed onto his face. The sound of the impact was muffled enough not to wake Lady Kerri, which Asbel was thankful for. Sophie watched as he fell onto his belly and managed to push himself up. "Let me see," he said, holding out a paw and carefully balancing on his three remaining legs while upturning the paw he held up.

Sophie had to crouch down pretty low, but she set the flower in his paw. He felt nothing. It just felt like a normal flower. "I don't get it." he proclaimed, bemused. "It's not warm at all for me."

Sophie picked it up, feeling the warm energy within the flower. She tilted her head at the thing, confused. Remaining silent, she seemed only focused on the flower until she slowly walked and put it back in its place.

"But… Uh… What did it feel like?" Asbel asked.

Sophie stared at her hands. "It has a similar energy to the energy I use when using First Aid," she explained quietly. Asbel didn't know what to make of it.

"Maybe it's because they both affect the body somehow?" Hubert asked, whispering. "Like, how Sophie's spell healed you and that thing changed you?"

"I dunno. Why're you asking me?" Asbel asked "And Sophie's got amnesia, so she doesn't know. I guess it'll just stay a mystery."

"That doesn't sound like you, Asbel," Hubert commented.

Asbel blinked. "Wait, what am I saying? I hate mysteries!"

"That's more like it," Hubert smiled. Asbel grinned back.

Asbel realized he was tired in that moment. "I'm still beat," he announced, turning to the bed and then sweatdropping.

"Just realized you're really small?" Hubert asked.

"I got this." Asbel braced himself and tried launching himself. He had tried to use all four paws, which resulted him in getting nearly no air and mashing his face against the floor again. "No? Okay, what about this?" he leaned back as far as he could, almost into a sitting position. He then used his hind legs to try and spring up on the bed. He almost made it, but wound up hanging on the edge of his bed by his forepaws.

"Here, let me help." Hubert started to get off the bed.

Asbel grunted. "No way. I've got this." he started trying to push himself up, wiggling and trying to twist his way onto the bed. His claws were piercing the bedsheets, but not by much. After about ten seconds, he started to slip off instead. He toppled onto his back, where he comically stayed for a moment. "Aw, nuts…"

Hubert sighed and walked over. "I need to be able to do this on my own, Hubert." Asbel declared. He started looking about. "Yeah, that'll work!"

At this point, Lady Kerri was awake and peeking at what her son was doing in the mostly dark room. She had learned long ago that her little boy was keen on doing things himself. He took it as an insult when others tried to help him until he realized that he had no other choice but to ask for help, when he would grudgingly accept defeat and help. Then she watched her boy, who had gone over and tried to push at the chair at his messy desk over with his paw. His pad slipped off the wooden surface, which made Asbel give a frown that absolutely resembled the one he would wear as a human. He pressed the hard piece in his forehead against the wood and started sliding it away from the desk and towards the bed. He kept slipping, but the stubborn boy kept it up until the chair was by the bed.

He jumped up, accidentally splaying out on the wooden surface, before hauling himself to his paws and jumping on the bed. "Victory!" he cheered, forgetting that it was the dead of night. "I have defeated you, my own bed!"

"Now would be a good time for some sleep." Hubert nodded tiredly as his brother celebrated his success, pumping a paw in the air before promptly curling up and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Asbel muttered back, having felt his energy start to rapidly disappear now that the excitement was over.

Sophie watched how the others were sleeping. The amnesiac blinked. They were all in different positions. Asbel was kind of curled up, Hubert was on his back under the covers, and their mother slept in a comfortable chair.

Sophie didn't know which one she should mimic to sleep. Finally, she just copied Lady Kerri, because there was another chair that she could sleep in. She finally sat down, gently closing her eyes. She did not understand what was happening, but as her mind was mostly blank and whether it mattered was lost to her.

The family and their guests finally got to sleep, heavy hearted for the most part and wondering what the future would hold.

* * *

"Asbel?"

Asbel stirred, waking up slowly. "Five more minutes…" he grumbled, feeling drained of energy still.

"Good, you're awake." he heard his mother sigh, probably with relief. "And you're still your old self."

"Yeah, I think the whole mess is pretty much over," Asbel said lifting his head and trying to blink his sleep away.

"Oh, Asbel…" Kerri murmured, wondering if her son had so promptly given up on being returned to normal. "You are worried about your condition, right?"

Asbel started, closing his eyes. "Yeah, of course I am." he admitted "But I just don't think I'm going to change any more than this. So until we find the cure, what am I supposed to do other than learn how to walk and use this body?"

The mother sighed and sat on his left, pulling him close. There weren't any words to be said. "We'll try as hard as we can." she promised finally "To return you to your true form."

"Thanks, mom." Asbel gave a small smile. "Hey, I should practice walking around, right?"

Kerri found herself reflecting once more on how strong her boy was. Refusing to be fazed by things, to forge ahead. He was too headstrong for his own good, but in this case, it helped him get past the horror of being turned into an unidentified animal and allowed him to look ahead. Now, she knew that the boy wished to get out and move around, so as he clumsily hopped off the bed, tripping in the process and sliding on the floor for a moment before fighting to get to his new paws again.

He padded shakily over to the door and promptly realized that he had paws and therefore was not exactly equipped for doors. "Okay…" he muttered, pushing off with his front paws and trying to put them on the door. He instead missed and smacked his face on said door. "Ow. Okay, let's try **this** instead!" he got as close as possible and tried to climb paw over paw, walking his front paws up the door and trying to reach the hand. However, he was far too small to have a chance at success with that, being a foot tall now.

Hubert moved to help, but Asbel told him to stay back. "I've got this…" he muttered, bracing his back legs and trying to top to the door handle. He didn't reach it, so he tried again. This time, he lost his balance and toppled backward, landing on his back with an involuntary whine of pain.

"Come on!" he exclaimed, twisting back onto his belly and pushing up, getting to his feet and leaping for the handle again. He whacked the door with his body and failed to reach it.

"I"

 **Crash!**

"Can"

 **Bonk!**

"Do"

 **Crash!**

"This!"

He couldn't. Hubert knew that Asbel wanted to do this on his own, but he also knew that it was beyond his brother's ability to do so right now. Suddenly, just before Hubert was going to help anyways, the door opened, and Asbel was forced to scramble away from it. "What is happening?" Aston asked, his eyes cold and angry.

Asbel sheepishly brought a paw up and rubbed his head, not really registering that he was capable of such in his quadrupedal form. "...Hi dad." he greeted the man "I was just trying to use the door."

Aston looked at where he should see his son's face before he cut off the muscle memory reaction and looked further down to the small animal who had addressed him. He found nothing to say in that first period of a few seconds, but recalled why he was here in the first place. "I have received an urgent letter from the capital," he announced.

Quieter than anybody else could hear, Asbel muttered: "'Hi, Asbel, good morning, Asbel'. Geez, dad."

"...The capital?" Sophie asked. She had been standing up, which surprised the rest of the room's occupants, as they had not seen her get up or move to the middle of the room. Her head was tilted to the side.

"I've always wanted to go there someday." Asbel said in Sophie's direction "It's this awesome city where the king lives."

"Oh." Sophie murmured "What's a king?"

"Uh... " Asbel muttered "He's like a leader. He makes all sorts of important decisions and stuff."

"I see," Sophie smiled. "Are you a king? You were making decisions yesterday."

Asbel chuckled. "No, I'm not a king. Only one person can be king."

Sophie nodded, now remaining quiet. Hubert turned to his father. "What did the letter say, dad?" he asked.

Aston winced as he recalled the last time he mentioned the contents of the letter.

* * *

Several minutes earlier, Richard was sitting on the bed. Calmly thinking to himself. Replaying the events of the previous day in his mind as he worked sleep away. He heard his door open and close faintly, but he did not truly register it for a moment.

"Prince Richard." the blond boy heard. He looked up, seeing that his personal guard had entered the room.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked.

"Lord Aston has a very urgent message for you."

"Then by all means." Richard stood up, walking towards the door. The guard simultaneously allowed the lord of Lhant entry.

Aston stood formally, "I am afraid that I have very urgent news." he proclaimed, removing a letter from his pocket and holding it out to the young boy. "Your father has taken ill. You have been ordered back to the capital without delay."

Richard blinked, and then registered the man's words. He jolted back, startled and frightened. "My father is sick!?" he asked, his voice shaky.

Aston nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so." he confirmed, "You should prepare to depart at once."

While Richard nodded, Aston had one more thing to say. "Judging by the difficulty you met on the road before you arrived, I intend to help escort you," he revealed.

"I-I understand…" Richard murmured, his eyes remaining wide and in shock.

* * *

"Oh no…" Hubert murmured, shaking. "That's horrible!"

Aston looked between everyone. "Asbel, Hubert, Sophie, you three will accompany us to the capital," he revealed.

Asbel brightened immediately. "Awesome!"

"You're taking us to the capital!?" Hubert asked

Sophie blinked.

"We will make further arrangements once we are underway." Aston declared, turning and walking away.

Asbel eagerly padded after him, tripping over his paws a few times as he moved. Sophie and Hubert began to follow, but Sophie stopped in the doorway and looked at the door. She had stalled long enough and Lady Kerri had found the girl to be standing in between her and the hallway. "What is it?" she asked, seeing Sophie looking at the open door.

"...I hit this door." the girl murmured.

Kerri smiled. "Oh, I simply put it back in place, dear," she replied. It was actually not in the best state at the moment, and could fall again if pushed too harshly in the direction from the outside to the inside, but Asbel hadn't managed to pull on the door and Aston had thankfully kept a hand on it. What she had been more surprised by was how the girl who seemed to be ever alert had not woken when the woman put the door back in place.

"Okay," Sophie replied, walking away.

" _She really is a strange one."_ Lady Kerri thought. " _The poor girl…"_

The girls followed the other group as they walked to the stairs, and Asbel stopped. While Sophie walked up to him and beside him, he slowly moved down each step carefully.

Not carefully enough. Aston and Hubert heard a yelp, and they swiftly turned to find Asbel's paw slipping off the corner of the staircase because his balance was off and he put too much force on that paw. He slipped and almost began a serious tumble. Before the boys could react, Sophie had swept him up and into her arms to prevent a disaster. "Are you okay, Asbel?'

"Yeah, I'm fine-" Asbel cut himself off as he realized what was going on "Ack! Why are you carrying me like that!?"

Everybody noticed that in saving the boy, she had picked him up like someone would a little puppy, and Asbel was now squirming in her grip and trying to escape. Sophie calmly walked to the bottom of the stairs before setting him down. "Because you were falling," she answered simply, not aware of the ruckus she caused.

Asbel's mind was looping on one single fact: " _I was just being carried like some sort of puppy!"_ Thus, he was unresponsive for a little bit before someone else finally spoke up.

"...Thank you for saving Asbel." Aston thanked the girl, who nodded to him.

"Y-Yikes…. That was **close**." Hubert whispered.

Asbel shook his head rapidly. "Yeah… Thanks," he said, looking away. He looked troubled. Troubled and slightly angry. Sophie looked at him, confused as to why he was acting differently.

"Well, we should not keep the prince and his guards waiting." Aston decided "Asbel, if you get tired, or have any trouble walking, notify us, and we will slow our pace."

"Nah, you don't have to do that." Asbel disagreed "I have to figure this out. If I gotta catch up to you afterward, then that's what I'm gonna do."

Aston sighed. "If we get to the Turtlez Transport, and you are not with us, I am sending Sophie to **carry** you back." he threatened. Asbel shivered and nodded, turning towards the front door.

That was when he froze. Something felt terribly wrong. "Asbel?" Sophie asked. Asbel didn't respond right away. "Asbel!"

Asbel looked around, trying to find the source of his discomfort. Where was it? Then, his senses went crazy as his gaze fell on the door to the guest room. Almost as if he had no other choice, the boy trotted up to the door and listened in.

Richard's personal guard looked at the boy from where he stood beside the doorway. "I have given Richard some privacy to dress himself," he explained, confused as to why the boy had suddenly acted so strangely.

Aston was carefully watching Asbel, wondering what was happening to him. Suddenly freezing like that and then acting as if he was looking for something… Was this some instinct born from the boy's transformation that was causing him to act this way?

Asbel picked up voices from within the building. They were very muffled, but Asbel managed to pay attention to the words. Aston was certain that the boy had never stood this still for this long.

"Bryce?" Asbel heard through the door.

"Surprised?"

"Yes, considering you used my window."

"Well, allow me to cut to the chase." there was a sound that greatly resembled metal sliding, and Richard gave a small gasp. Asbel did too.

"Richard's in danger!" he shouted, jumping back. The royal guard that was at the door, Richard's personal guard, reacted instantly by opening the door and sweeping through. He found Bryce pointing his claws at a terrified Richard. Bryce froze at the sight of Aston, Asbel, and Richard's guard.

"Explain yourself, Bryce!" the guard exclaimed. Instead of doing so, Bryce realized that this would be his one and final chance. He lunged for Richard with his claw brought down on the boy.

That was to be the beginning and end of the battle. Richard jumped to the side, landing on his stomach as Bryce missed the initial attack, and then his guard and Sophie leapt into battle. While the guard delivered a disabling strike with his sword to the assassin's arm, Sophie slammed her gauntlet, which had mysteriously just flashed into existence on her hand, straight into the back of Bryce's head and smashing him face first against the floor. The man was defeated.

As Sophie quickly hauled the man's unconscious form off by several meters, the guard began tending to Richard as best he could. Asbel sighed with relief. That had been particularly easy. Padding over to Richard, he gave a smile. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you-" Richard suddenly realized what he was looking at and scrambled back for a moment with a frightened yelp. Asbel blinked in confusion, taking a moment to register why Richard had been afraid.

As he frowned and looked at his right paw, Richard registered the voice he had heard. "Wait… Asbel?" he asked.

Asbel brightened instantly. "Yep, that's me." he proclaimed happily. "Haha… Sorry for scaring you like that."

"I-it's all right," Richard assured Asbel. This was Richard's first time seeing Asbel's new form in person. With the many blade-like appendages and the sharp teeth, Asbel looked kind of menacing at first glance. Then one would notice that Asbel was really small, the size of a puppy, likely reflective of his age. That accompanied by the fluff made him look downright cute and pettable. It was like the perfect blend of the two aspects. There was something about the way those blades were shaped that seemed to compliment the rest of his form, and his fur looked like it would be very absorptive. With the black colored piece on his forehead, despite there being no distinctive white mark on his face, made the entire image of Asbel's face remind Richard of the Yin and Yang symbol.

" _All light has some darkness and all darkness has some light. Those which are forever opposite will be forever intertwined."_ He recalled from an old text he once read some years back. The fluffiness certainly seemed intertwined with the menacing blades of the horn, claws, and tail.

Richard realized he was getting off track. He stood up, tearing his eyes and mind off of the form Asbel was forced to take. "May I ask your name?" he inquired of the pinkette that was keeping an eye on Bryce.

"Asbel calls me Sophie." the girl replied, her facial expression unchanging. "He said it was my name."

Richard was mystified by the girl, but he did not comment on it. It would be disrespectful to do so. Instead, he nodded politely and extended his hand to the girl. "My name is Richard. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sophie." he introduced himself. Sophie stared at the hand for a while, until her eye caught Hubert helpfully mimicking a handshake. Her gauntlets faded into light as she brought her hand forward.

As the two shook hands, Richard's personal guard took off his helmet to get a better view of the man they had defeated. He had blond hair and emerald eyes. Hard with determination, those eyes watched the man for signs of movement. He turned to the remaining guards that joined them. "You three." he ordered three of them "Put him in chains. We will be imprisoning him until further notice within the capitol prison building."

"Yes, sir!"

Asbel took notice of the man's sword. "That's a really cool sword, sir!" he declared out of the blue. The man had not noticed that he still held it, such was his focus. He hefted the blade up for Asbel to see properly. It was a cobalt blue blade, with a white pair of wings as the hand guard and a sapphire in between them. The blade itself was about three inches wide and about two and a half feet long.

"Yes. This is a… Family heirloom of sorts, you could say. Saifogeo is its name." the man nodded. "According to the stories I heard as a kid, Saifogeo is the Blade of Life."

He sheathed it, and the wings folded in as they entered the black and blue sheath, leaving only the sapphire visible as well as the handle. "We should get on the road." he declared.

"Yes sir, Sir Mavis." the guards agreed and started to go through the process of binding the unconscious man. The group turned to leave the room, each one having different theories about why the man would attack Richard. But one thing rang in everyone's minds: Asbel Lhant had sensed the danger before it occurred.

* * *

Sophie traced her fingers along the Turtlez Transport's skin on its leg curiously. As everyone was preparing to board, she was gingerly analyzing the beast she was in contact with. The behemoth carrying the carriage looked at her out of the corner of its eye as she approached from the side. She touched its face, watching it carefully in case it attacked.

No matter what she did, how she moved her hand, the giant tortoise didn't care in the slightest. It just stood there, waiting to be urged forward. Sophie placed her hand on top of its head, feeling its warmth. It was alive, despite not bothering to react to her touch.

"Sophie, come on." she heard Asbel call from atop the transport. He had managed to jump up the stairs on the back of the transport without hurting himself. That meant he wasn't sulking, and so had the forethought to call Sophie when everyone was ready.

Sophie, instead of walking around to the staircase, leapt up to join them. Everybody gawked at the inhuman jump they had just witnessed. "Holy cow!" Asbel exclaimed, "Since when have you been able to jump that high!?"

Sophie blinked. "When? ...I wonder…"

Asbel's expression faded from happy to slightly more subdued for a moment. But he brightened again soon enough.

The Turtlez Transport was urged forward by the Turtlez, a man with his hair covering his cheeks and dressed in an odd getup consisting of a shell and being surrounded by yellow cloth. The sleeves went far past his hands and ended in red colored points, entirely trapping his hands. His clothing matched no outstanding style. Instead, his suit seemed to go all the way down to his feet, which were exposed as if they were sticking out of the base of a robe that was sewn together to resemble a bag. He had a hood on that bore dull red markings and only covered the top of his head. Along with his hair, this only left his eyes, nose, and mouth visible. A belt was worn from his left shoulder to under his right armpit, and finally, some cloth resembling a tail and stuffed with something was behind him.

This seemed to be the uniform for the Turtlez, who would best be described as a merchant tribe.

Unlike most tortoises, this one was both large and relatively quick. 'Quick' for a Turtlez Transport was of course about six miles per hour. Faster than the average walking speed, and the tortoise itself could walk for days without tiring or even needing sustenance. That was why the powerful beasts were tamed to use as transport, despite not being the fastest.

Asbel managed to get much better at walking by impatiently pacing about the transport as he tested his body more and more. "There's so many things I want to do in Barona!" he proclaimed happily as he brought his forepaws up to a higher surface to be able to see outside of the transport.

"Asbel." Aston called to his son sternly "It is essential that you stay by my side at all times."

Asbel's head fell and he groaned. "Oh great." he grumbled "C'mon, dad! There's gotta be all sorts of awesome things at the capitol!"

"This is not negotiable, Asbel." Aston growled, "This is for your own safety."

"Yeah right," Asbel muttered, too quiet for his father to hear.

"Hey, dad... " Hubert started "What's gonna happen to Asbel when we're surrounded by other people?"

Aston sighed. "For right now, Asbel will have to avoid acting out. If at all possible." he turned to Asbel, who's attention had been brought forth by his name being mentioned. "He will have to remain quiet and follow along with us. If he is mistaken for a monster, he might be harmed. If he speaks, he will draw unnecessary attention."

Asbel caught the last part and scoffed, believing his dad was worried about his own image again. As for the first part… "I can handle myself. Besides, nobody's ever heard of a talking monster." he claimed "Seriously. I just say a few things, and suddenly, I don't look like the bad guy."

"You may be surprised, Asbel." Aston replied, "Humans are excellent at attacking what they do not understand."

"Seriously, back to your precious image." Asbel narrowed his eyes "I was **talking** about telling people who I was and what happened, and then, almost by magic, I don't get attacked by people. But you're so worried about **that** that you don't want me to say a word."

"Asbel, now is not the time for argument." Aston proclaimed harshly.

While the boy huffed and sat down, Richard was eyeing Asbel carefully. A degree of protectiveness flashed through him when he saw that Asbel was being scolded. The boy's actions had saved his life after all.

"The boy's decision-making skills do deserve some credit." Sir Mavis declared after a minute of tense silence. "After all, his actions prevented Prince Richard's death at the hands of Bryce of all people." he continued, looking towards the road behind them where the group had left two guards and an unarmed Bryce, now a prisoner, who would be traveling separately.

"Yeah. Why would Bryce try to assassinate you, anyways?" Asbel promptly asked Richard. Aston glared at the boy, prepared to berate him for speaking so callously with the crown prince. However, Richard was prepared to answer such a question.

"I can think of… Several reasons." he deflected the question skillfully "But none that are worth sharing."

"But…" Asbel began "Well, come on. You can trust me."

"I'm sorry, but… It's more complicated than that." Richard piped down and did not meet Asbel's eyes.

"I have a question too." Hubert murmured "Why would Bryce just attack in the middle of the manor? I mean, he would have gotten swarmed by everybody, right?"

"A reasonable question." Sir Mavis nodded grimly. "May I, my liege?"

"...Of course." Richard seemed more comfortable not answering the question himself.

Sir Mavis leaned forward. "Many stand to gain by the demise of Prince Richard," he revealed to the two boys, who let out small gasps. Asbel moved to interrupt, but the blond man raised a hand in the universal sign for 'stop', and Asbel paused long enough for him to continue. "I would wager that this was Bryce's last chance to assassinate the prince, and he felt that chance slipping away as we cut our trip short. After the humiliation he received in the training field, it was very likely that Bryce would no longer have a post close to the prince or the king. Thus, he panicked and attacked. Had this only been for himself, I would imagine he would have not taken the chance. However, his entire family has a chance to gain something from this action. We cannot convict the family, of course. We can only question them, and it is likely that most or all of them had nothing to do with this. However, they will be kept separate from the royal family from this day forth, as our trust in them has been damaged."

Asbel quieted down for a bit. "I don't get it." he finally stated "Richard's a great guy. Why would anybody gain from his death?"

Sir Mavis and Aston shared a glance. Both agreed. "That is a conversation for another day." Aston declared.

Asbel raised an eyebrow for a moment. "...Alright. As long as he's safe." he decided, curling up Richard stared at the boy, wondering what Asbel was up to. The boy was totally ignorant of politics, and yet he helped Richard anyways, and advocated for him.

Richard was confused. If Asbel was not aware of the political gain in gaining his trust, why would he ever be nice to him?

Much later, the group arrived at the port to Barona. Aston swiftly ordered Asbel to remain quiet and follow his lead, and after Hubert backing his father on the premise that they weren't in Barona just yet and that the ports generally had rougher people in the alleys.

"I'm not a **pet**." he grumbled as he slunk down the stairs one step at a time.

"Nobody is saying that, Asbel," Hubert assured his brother.

"I will admit, your situation has baffled me to the point where the right choice in this instance is not entirely clear to me." Aston closed his eyes as he disembarked the Turtlez Transport.

"Ah ha!" Asbel turned on him "And you say you know for **sure** that I can't go around talking!?"

"Asbel, that is enough." Aston growled "We will decide how to handle this after we learn whether you can be cured of… This. For now, you will remain quiet."

"Fat chance," Asbel muttered, again too quiet for his father to hear. Aston saw his mouth moving, but did not comment on what he assumed was an insult. Eventually, the boy would have to grow up.

When they reached the port much later, Sir Mavis and the lesser soldiers escorted their ward off of the Turtlez Transport with Aston's assistance. "Uh… Asbel? I think you should humor dad for just a bit, at least until everyone's used to the sight of you following along."

"...Sure, Hubert." Asbel replied after a moment. He didn't dare admit it, but if his brother said something was a good idea, it probably was. "Come along, Sophie," he instructed, and the amnesiac girl obediently followed.

Understanding his brother's lingering inexperience, Hubert took care to match Asbel's pace rather than force his brother to do likewise.

The odd group walked along, Richard's form blocked from most recognizable angles by the protective guards' bodies as they walked close to him. Thus, the stares were not locked on the crown prince but on the little white and black animal walking alongside a little blue haired boy and a much taller pinkette who was blankly looking out at the people they passed by.

"Everyone is staring," Sophie commented simply. "Why?"

"Because I look different." Asbel explained "they're probably thinking 'hey, what is that awesome creature walking around?' Or something."

"Awesome?" Sophie asked.

"Cool, neat, great," Asbel said.

"...why do those words apply here?" Sophie asked, "what do they mean?"

Asbel went wide-eyed. "Uh… Well." He muttered, feeling the jab at him from her first words.

"Those words are usually slang terms to use instead of impressive or other words." Hubert supplied, looking at Asbel sympathetically.

"Mm." Sophie clenched her right elbow with her left hand. "Their faces are different…" she murmured.

Aston managed to hear this and looked around. There were some apprehensive faces about, eying his own son. For the sake of appearances, he hoped that Asbel would not do anything rash.

Miraculously, Asbel continued padding along without causing a huge ruckus. The looks he was getting did unnerve him a bit, though saying so aloud would be a crushing defeat. No, he would **never** admit that he was a little frightened. Never.

They did reach the boat without incident. The long dock was defended by a man who controlled who entered the ferry.

"Good afternoon." The man gave a bow.

"Eight to Barona." Sir Mavis declared, presenting some money from his pouch to the man.

That man looked at the group, confused. "Seven?" He asked, "is your eighth member going to arrive shortly?"

"No." Aston gestured behind him directly at Asbel. "He is right here."

"The… What is that?"

Asbel opened his mouth immediately, but Aston quickly intervened. "It is of no consequence." He declared. "He must come with us.

"O-of course, Sir." The man stuttered, not missing the harsh tone. "Welcome aboard."

Once they were on board and out of sight, Asbel started to grumble. "You should'a let me say something to him. The look on his face would'a been priceless!"

"I hardly think startling the man would have served us in any way." Sir Mavis mused.

"This is exactly what I was talking about," Aston growled. "Your search for fun and amusement could have led to disaster!"

"Oh, get off my case, dad," Asbel replied, frustrated.

"We have one hour before departure." One of the unidentified guards spoke up. "So I suggest you get comfortable."

Richard, no longer hidden by the guards who had now taken more defensive locations in the room they had arrived in, which appeared to be a sort of main area in which others moved about in, able to find their sleeping quarters on the boat, looked around and took in his surroundings.

He nodded to a counter within the room at the end. "I suggest we determine where our rooms are for the night."

"An excellent suggestion, my liege." Aston agreed, bowing to the prince and beginning to lead the way to the lady while Hubert started talking.

"Most traffic in this port heads straight between here and Barona." he began "But it also houses boats from all over the world, including from ports based in Strahta or Fendel. Because Lhant is one of the most accessible places to all three countries, its port is usually very busy." he tilted his head. "In fact, I'm surprised we didn't have to wait in a line."

"Waiting for entry **has** to be the worst," Asbel complained.

"I guess so…" Hubert murmured in reply.

"There are people staring again…" Sophie murmured, inconspicuously pointing at the people in the room that were looking at Asbel.

"Eh, let 'em." Asbel balanced on three legs, checking that his dad wasn't watching, before giving a few people to his right a small wave with his raised forepaw. They blinked, as if not knowing what to make of it.

"Do they know you, Asbel?" Sophie asked.

"Nah, they're just looking at me because I look different," Asbel explained.

"Why is that?" Sophie asked.

"I… Well…" Asbel couldn't explain that part. "I dunno."

Aston returned, holding in his palm two room keys. He was silent, shooting gazes at the surrounding people. "...Let us make certain we are not followed." one of the guards advised.

"Of course." Aston agreed "Asbel, join Richard in a less visible position to avoid attracting attention."

"...Fine." Asbel trudged over to the spot where Richard stood. "Whatever you say, dad," he grumbled. "Hey, you haven't gotten bored yet, have you, Richard?" he followed.

"Bored?" Richard asked.

"Come on, you're not Sophie." Asbel teased.

Richard hung his head. "I apologize." he immediately responded. "I did not mean to insult you."

"Insult me?" Asbel looked baffled, despite his facial structure being much different. The look was quite the same. "No way. I just made a joke. Relax."

"Uh…" Richard looked surprised.

"Anyways, I've always wanted to see the capitol." Asbel commented cheerfully as the group began moving with Aston keeping watch for 'stragglers' behind them. Sophie began to mimic him, which the man noticed. Giving the girl a curt nod, he turned back to rejoin the group.

It wasn't five minutes before Asbel realized that at some point, he wanted to stand outside on the boat's deck and see the ocean sweep by. When everything was starting to be put together in the rooms, it was Asbel that kept pacing while his father dealt with Asbel's luggage, which did not consist of much, although several of Asbel's clothing was made available to him if Asbel suddenly shifted back into his old human form while the trip was in session. Ever hopeful.

Aston kept Asbel in the corner of his eye. Still not knowing what to think, the man felt utterly lost. It was almost like life had completely flipped upside down. A single thought kept repeating itself over and over in his mind, deep beneath the attempts at rational thought and the forced decision making.

" _My son's future could be gone."_

That particularly heavy thought just would **not** go away. It made it hard to focus on other things now.

Asbel couldn't take being cooped up any longer. "Hey, dad," he asked, making sure his dad wasn't going to be annoyed because he was busy doing something else. "Can I watch the boat depart from the deck?"

Aston opened his mouth quickly, but Hubert didn't realize that as his back was turned. The blue-haired boy turned around, excited. "Oh! Can we? Can we dad?" he practically begged.

Aston's words died in his throat as he looked around. Sophie was turning from Hubert, who had spoken last, to Aston. The stare she gave was almost eerie… Almost blank. And yet, there was that glimmer of curiosity that was just barely present, that hadn't been there before. Her mind was evolving with every interaction, as would happen with someone with no recollection of any previous experiences.

That, and the guards in the room were smiling at the children, amused by their antics. All in all, it seemed that Aston was the only one that disapproved.

He sighed, pinching his forehead. "...Very well." he relented "But Sophie, don't let Asbel out of your sight. And Hubert, stay with them. Do **not** separate from each other, understand?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes," she replied quickly, easily, and the father released a sigh of relief in the knowledge that the seemingly capable girl could understand his orders.

"Sure thing, Dad." Asbel nodded. "I'm not stupid enough to go out completely alone."

"No, you just drag me along with you." Hubert joked lightheartedly, causing both brothers to chuckle.

"Haha. Well, let's go." Asbel smiled, turning to face the door and promptly realizing that once again, he was way too short. "Uh, one second."

Three failed attempts to leap at the doorknob later had Asbel sulking to the side facing away from the door while Hubert kindly opened the door for his brother.

After the children left, Aston followed only to turn the opposite direction down the hall and knock on the door for the room in which Prince Richard and his personal guards resided. Sir Mavis opened the door for Aston, nodding to him in a gesture for Aston to go ahead and speak. "Have you all settled in well?" Aston asked, remaining as formal as possible.

Sir Mavis nodded. "Of course, lord Aston. I believe we will be perfectly safe during the voyage. Now, considering it is late afternoon, I suggest we get some well-earned rest."

Aston nodded tiredly. "Yes, I think we all need some rest. However, I must stand by for when Asbel, Hubert, and Sophie return. Asbel and Hubert wished to see the boat cast off."

Sir Mavis smiled. "Despite all they've been through in the past few days, they can still be children." he marveled. "That is impressive, to me. Then again, every child is like that."

Aston sighed. "True enough…" he conceded. "Well, I wish you all a good rest. Especially the prince, as being woken up during the night and getting so little sleep cannot be good for one so young."

"Neither is it any good for us old men." Sir Mavis joked. "But if you feel you need to stay awake for them, by all means. Just make sure that when they go to bed, **you** do too."

Aston nodded. "Of course."

* * *

Asbel padded out in the open, Sophie and Hubert flanking him. To others, he must have looked like a pet of some sort, a thought which tempted Asbel to speak aloud and fix that, but his father crossed his mind. If **he** got wind of this, Asbel would be confined in his room for **ages**.

So Asbel waited until there were no other people in the area as they reached the railing, and he looked out at the water underneath them and the dock. Then, he spoke up in a whisper: "This is gonna be **sweet**!"

Sophie looked out over the side of the boat as the dock and the boat were separated, and the engines roared to life, startling her. She cautiously looked over the edge to see that the boat had indeed begun moving.

The boat began slowly as the engines fought to overcome the lack of momentum of the watercraft, employing water eleth to help the water move less in response to the turbines , causing the boat to be more greatly affected in response to the liquid's apparent resistance.

As the boat smoothly and quickly accelerated as it left the port behind, the children all stared as more and more of the area they could see turned to water as the land receded.

"These boats use water eleth to make the turbines have a greater effect on the boat than on the water." Hubert began, "and if that isn't enough, or the wind is slowing us down or even threatening to topple the ship, we can use wind eleth to curb the force of the wind. It's all very complicated machinery, and-"

"Pi-joink."

Sophie had reached over and pinched Hubert's cheek, causing the boy to exclaim in surprise. "Ow! Don't pinch my cheek! It hurts!" he complained.

Asbel laughed. "I think Sophie's heard enough, Hubert," he explained jovially.

Hubert got over the pain quickly, but did not miss that the action had happened in the first place. He decided not to mention the shift in behavior aloud. Any stress was best left for another day, when they weren't still getting over the fact that Asbel was some odd kind of animal now.

And if **that** thought wasn't a watermelon amongst a bunch of grape gels…

But Asbel's attempts at keeping the same attitude as before made it almost difficult to notice… Unless Hubert had to look down to look his brother in the eyes. If Hubert has his back turned to Asbel, he wouldn't notice a single difference in any way. That baffled him.

"I can see the land again…" Sophie declared in her mostly monotonous voice, looking past the structure as she now stood at the outer starboard deck to look in both directions. "I can see the land in both directions…"

Asbel and Hubert, curious, moved to join her. They couldn't see either landmass. "Huh," Hubert muttered.

"Where? I can't see it!" Asbel complained.

"It's in that direction." Sophie pointed where the ship was headed. "It's a lot further away…"

Hubert spoke up. "Well, if you can see that far… Anyways, the distance between Lhant and the Capitol is actually not that long. It's faster to travel by boat to cross the water, but several days' travel on foot can probably get someone there as well."

"Pretty cool," Asbel commented. "Well, I'm going to see if I can get back into running, and that'll be weird cooped up indoors."

"...Okay, Asbel, but try not to scare anybody else that might show up." Hubert reminded his brother carefully. Asbel nodded and hopped a few times on his paws to get the feel of moving them again, before trying to run.

That quickly turned into a stumble and a fall, resulting in Asbel's face being planted into the wooden deck. Asbel grunted as he righted himself, and true to his own determination, he tried again immediately. Eventually, he was running laps, yet slowly, and tripping repeatedly. If he attempted a full run, his paws tangled ridiculously easily and he toppled.

But at a trot… He was getting better.

Asbel's efforts cut short when Hubert noticed the sun was beginning to set. "C'mon, big brother." Hubert coaxed. "We'll have to get up early to get off the boat at the Capitol."

"Okay." Asbel nodded, satisfied with his performance.

Aston openly sighed with relief when Hubert opened the door to let Asbel and Sophie in the room, walking inside himself after said courtesy. "We're back, dad," Hubert announced unnecessarily.

"Good." Aston nodded. "Now, get some rest. We will be waking early tomorrow to be ready to arrive in Barona. It shall not take long. In fact, if the sea and sky allow, we will have arrived by the time we wake."

"Okay, dad!" Hubert agreed, beginning to prepare for bed. Asbel nodded himself, a little sleepy and unwilling to negotiate further time awake, as that hadn't exactly worked in the past, and started for a case that he knew should contain his clothing for a moment before he realized that he didn't exactly fit in those clothes anymore.

'Uh… Right." Asbel felt a little bit off as that little mistake clicked in his mind, but he didn't like the feeling, and so instead jumped on an available bed and slowly curled up for the night.

And in the other room, Prince Richard, in his bed but not attempting to sleep, thought only about his father and his illness. The boy's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the ceiling, beginning to understand the meaning of the term.

* * *

"Wow…" Asbel whispered.

"That's really cool…" Hubert too marveled at the sight.

The boys stood in a spacious square of tiles between two large staircases, drinking in their first view of Barona. The capital city of Windor practically glowed. Set against an oddly shaped cliffside that stretched into the distance, the buildings were sculpted in unique, awe-inspiring ways and were constructed of what appeared to be the finest materials, primarily wood.

However, the true image that defined Barona was the arcing spike-like structure placed on a viewing platform towering over the cliffs and the sea. Facing out towards the sea, the object was covered in crystalline structures that vaguely resembled what would happen if the wind deliberately attempted to carve wings out of stone over many years.

The object itself was enormous, and a glowing green crystalline material. The arcing spike drew the attention of the children the most as they stood on the stairs from the port to the city itself. And the messy wing-like structures that haphazardly adorned it only added to the impressiveness of the piece.

"The Valkines Cryas… Gloandi..." Hubert identified it. A refreshing wind blew through the area. "People say it's the Valkines that makes the wind so constant and refreshing in Barona."

Sophie stood between the boys, staring up at the Valkines Cryas with an odd expression. She made no comment.

Asbel got tired of the view. "Well!?" he exclaimed, bounding away towards the next staircase and nearly tripping before righting himself. "C'mon! I want to see the city!"

* * *

 **Do any of you know how difficult it is not to mismatch 'Asbel' with 'Absol'? It's probably the most difficult thing about writing this story, even more difficult than writing it to follow the initial plot, which required (shudder) research... Can you imagine a lazy person like me actually researching stuff? Because while I've watched Ramza's playthrough of Tales of Graces at least three times, I have to look through it again to get a lot of the dialogue and specific chain of events.**

 **Rant aside, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. I made it a bit shorter than the last, but I hope that's all right. Also, to anybody who has played Tales of Graces, I realize that the distance between Lhant and Barona by boat is shown to be pretty short. However, that is to accommodate the apparently short distance in walking time when traveling on foot. Or it most likely is...**

 **Regardless, I decided to upsize the planet. While I enjoy the size the world seems to be in the game, I enjoy it because it is designed with gameplay in mind. Designed to keep the player from having to take ages between towns, to the point where the planet might as well be an eighth the size of the moon. So instead, there will be times when time moves quickly as the characters travel through the world. So that the story can remain in pace with readers' expectations... And so that we're dealing with a planet that's at least the size of the moon or something.**

 **And did you know that writing amnesiacs is really, really hard? I had a bit of an issue with Jake in TAC, but in this case, Sophie's kind of important and a part of the many, many interactions in the game, as well as her progression. I have to study that progression quite a bit and try to make it cleaner from this point forward, because I'm sure I missed a key step somewhere here...**

 **Anyways, please review, and look forward to the next chapter of Absol Lhant, or any other of my ongoing stories that you are currently following.**

 **Good day to you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh, my god, this took a long time.**

 **One thing to know about me is that most of my stories allow for a lot of freestyle. Even Silent has its periods of time in which I can freestyle and do what I want to do with the story. But Absol Lhant? A consistent, almost grueling experience. I have to so carefully balance the canon plot and the effects that the one change in the story has to it.**

 **For one thing, some lines of dialogue are directly from the game itself, especially a section near the end of the chapter. It's because it's very important. And because such a 'small' change like turning Asbel into an absol simply wouldn't stop that plot from happening, just change how the characters deal with it, how they react to it, and how long it takes.**

 **That's my excuse for how long this took, but it's here! Look at it! I'm late, but I'm here!**

 **(coughs)**

 **Jango: Under the weather?**

 **Me: I'm not good at ranting.**

 **Jango: Yeah, no kidding. That was kind of pathetic.**

 **Amber: Be nice, Jango.**

 **Jango: Ack! Okay!**

 **Me: Let's get to reviews before I sleep...**

 **Jango: West first, absolutely. Google translate can't handle your 'Russian', buddy. You can't even Russian correctly.**

 **Amber: Neither can you...**

 **Jango: Shh.**

 **Me: Uh, anyways... Alger, it's a pleasure to see you again, and you seem much more level-headed. It's a good thing that you're nocturnal, so you're awake when you're talking... But yes, Aston's reaction to Asbel's change is probably the strongest impact on the world this takes place in. Thank you for noting how nobody had done a crossover of this yet, and I just had to do it, because Asbel and Absol are just too similar not to make a fanfiction about. I've mismatched Asbel with absol at least forty times writing this chapter...**

 **Jango: Aww, Phillip wasn't your real name? Shame. I wish my last name was Harbindinger. It's totally not, but it's so close to harbinger, but misspelled. It's like the meaning of it is literally 'omen of chaos'! It's just too perfect. Oh, and pretty sure the date of this release answers the other question. Just saying.**

 **Me: Ddragon21. I am not actually checking my math here by looking at my other review pages, but I don't know if you've ever reviewed one of my stories before. If not, welcome! If so, welcome still! I'm glad his first instance of having a danger sense was as thought provoking about the future as I wanted it to be. Oh, and unAnonymous, Asbol? That's new. Now that I've read that, I will proceed to mix the three up interchangeably whenever I try to write this. (eye twitch) so... We'll mix up the names together.**

 **Thank you all so much for reviewing. It means a lot to me that you were willing to check out the first in this crossover section. I await more reviews again, to tell me how I've done, because it's important for me to know so that I can learn how better to write a story such as this. What emotions did you feel and when, did I convey messages correctly, did I overdo anything or leave something unsatisfying. I appreciate all of your support, be it constructive criticism or otherwise. Thank you.**

* * *

Chapter 3

A small white-furred mammal with a black face devoid of fur, having a bladed horn and tail, gazed up at the enormous city that loomed just above an equally enormous flight of stairs. The steps were actually very thin and wide, each one merely three inches or so, but there were so many that they eventually reached several stories up to the city atop the cliffs and surrounding plains.

"Man, this city is **huge**!" Asbel exclaimed, red eyes flicking to all of the various sights to behold. "It's nothing like life back in Lhant!"

He started to pad forward, carefully setting his paws atop the first step.

"Keep pace with us," Aston ordered within a moment, catching up to Asbel with long strides.

Asbel was quick to complain. "But dad!" he complained, but the sound that escaped his new throat was closer to a whine than he wanted to be "Ugh, that was a weird noise… Anyway! This is the first time I've been in Barona, **ever**! Can't we see the sights on the way?"

"Asbel, this is not some vacation." Aston asserted, looking very disappointed, as he usually tended to. "This is for your own health. I will not have you running off to sightsee while we are deciding your **future**!"

"Dad-," Asbel halted in his words for a moment. He didn't know what he was feeling. What was the word for it, what was… "Ugh… Fine. Spoilsport."

"Stay with me," Aston ordered. He looked behind him at the prince, who was currently surrounded by his guards once again, "Your highness, if I may escort you to the castle?"

"Figures." Asbel muttered, before trying to mimic his dad childishly "No no, this is of the utmost importance. Wait, hang on, I have better things to do than deal with **you**."

"It's very important that Richard gets back safe, Asbel…" Hubert tried to console his brother. "And if we go to the castle, you'll get to sightsee after all!"

This obviously brought Asbel's mood up immediately. "You're right, Hubert!" he exclaimed, forgetting the implied insult quickly in favor of looking around at the scenery again, intent on memorizing every contour; He had no idea when he would be here next.

"Oh, and Asbel, Dad's really confused right now, so maybe we should just make it easier for him," Hubert added carefully. Not carefully enough, as Asbel grew frustrated again.

"It's not hard to get," he muttered. "I turned into some sort of… Catdog, or something, and we're here to visit Barona and maybe fix me."

"You shouldn't say 'maybe', Asbel." Hubert murmured "It sounds like you gave up."

Resignation. That was the word to describe Asbel's feelings.

He looked down for a moment, but he knew his father would be looking his way once more, and he couldn't afford to show any weakness to the man. He brought his head up quickly. "Hey, I'm fine, don't worry about me!" he exclaimed, "After all, we get to see the castle on this trip, it's gonna be so fun!"

Sophie and Hubert watched as the white-furred being turned and prepared to bound ahead.

"What did I **say** , Asbel?" Aston stepped up behind them. Asbel froze in his tracks, which didn't quite work because momentum is a thing, and he hit the stone surface hard with his face after tripping.

Hubert trotted up. "Asbel, are you okay?" he prodded.

"I'm fine, Hubert." Asbel insisted, pushing himself to his paws, and looking back at his father. "I get it, Dad, fine."

"Stay near me. And stay **quiet**." Aston ordered, walking to the front of the group. "There are few people here, but once we enter the city all eyes will be watching. You will be on your best behavior today, do I make myself clear?"

"I said I get it, Dad," Asbel grumbled, before begrudgingly falling silent. The boy moodily looked around as the group began walking before turning and looking to where Richard was. If he could see him. The guards were very vigilant and shielded the young boy from view by walking on all sides of him.

" _I wonder if Richard ever gets to see the views."_ Asbel thought to himself, but then was lost in the city towering above his small, smaller than ever before, frame. Unlike the soft dirt paths that made up some of Lhant's roads while the rest was smooth stone surfaces, the consistent stone surfaces of Barona prove difficult for Asbel to traverse because his claws kept catching on the cracks between the square stone plates in the midst of the road.

He pulled his snout off of the stone a third time, grumbling a bit but otherwise dealing with it. Unlike his earlier practice with walking on four legs, he wasn't looking at his front paws taking step after step. He was staring up at the buildings that held themselves to the sky (in his view. In truth they were not skyscrapers in any sense) and marveling at the effort that went into the two to three story buildings and the building he thought might be the castle coming up in the distance. Then his eyes caught the signs. "Oh wow, that's the knight academy!" he exclaimed, quickening his pace.

"Not so fast, Asbel. The castle is this way." Aston reminded the boy, turning left.

Asbel was sorely tempted to keep going, but then he'd probably get lost because everyone was going to turn the other way and the city was big. And getting lost was **not** on the agenda, no matter how awesome the building was even at a distance.

They continued traveling through a street full of merchants, surprisingly polite people stepping aside for the larger group as said group kept to the right of the street. One could feel the awkwardness in the air as Aston was forced to shoo young children away from Asbel before they could try petting him, silently thanking the stars that Asbel himself was staying quiet for now.

At the next large intersection, Asbel still couldn't get a proper look at the castle because of all the lesser buildings in his way.

"I can't wait to see the castle!" He finally burst out, needlessly startling the passerby humans that all but jumped away from him in surprise. Asbel didn't notice until he glanced back and saw the result of his mistake.

Aston was furious but dared not say a word when there were others around. He could not publicly imply that his eldest son was a beast. It could have consequences unforeseen, but he let Asbel know with a fierce glare that this was **not** over.

During the distraction, Sir Mavis spoke up. "We must turn here." He proclaimed registering the growing conflict but having other things to be concerned about. Such as the fact that the child who had turned into a beast might slow the down coming up the staircase.

Asbel didn't want to keep meeting his father's glare, and so bounded over to the staircase the moment he saw where the knights were going with Prince Richard.

Sir Mavis opened his mouth to speak, but found himself closing it again as he witnessed the child attempt to clamber up the stairs by himself. He looked on as Asbel moved too fast and smacked his face against the stone surface, and raised an eyebrow as he just shook the painful impact off, gave himself some vocal encouragement, and tried again at a slightly slower pace.

He noted how Asbel's father had been about to rush to the boy's aid, but had found himself stalled by Asbel's efforts to make it to the top on his own.

But where was the pink haired girl? Sir Mavis looked around until he saw that she had moved up to stay next to Asbel, ready to catch him if he fell again. She was certainly a strange one, and he knew that amnesia was no joke, but she didn't quite follow the pattern of amnesia the same way; She seemed to learn quickly. But she grew attached in the way someone with amnesia would, just like a newborn.

But, he mused, perhaps she was simply a quick learner.

Asbel stubbornly refused assistance, even when asked if he needed help. Even when Hubert whispered something to him about the fact that Richard needed to get to the castle and that Aston was supposed to escorting the knights there as an act of respect and basic decency, Asbel still refused because it was important to him to figure out how to move up stairs in that body.

Richard himself knew not what to think of this. Asbel acted as though status meant little, which was almost… Refreshing. Or perhaps he was just ignorant.

" _The second option, most likely."_ The young prince thought pessimistically. " _By the time he's his father's age, he'll be just like the rest of them…"_

Asbel got up the stairs without further assistance, although he took it slowly enough to be safe. Everyone else followed at a steady pace, most of them watching the boy with varying degrees of apprehension, or just feeling somewhat impressed.

The boy himself was almost absurdly proud of himself, ready to call out to the heavens for his victory over a staircase when his father's death glare shut him up for now. Immediately after he registered this, all of the conflict was moot to him simply because the castle was finally in almost proper view. Seeing its roof hover over his vantage point of the nearby city buildings reinvigorated him, and he started bounding forward along the bridge crossing the lower route they had just bypassed by taking the stairs, and tripped at the top of the arch again.

"Asbel, you shouldn't rush so much…" Hubert caught up to his brother, getting in front of him for a moment with a worried expression. "You've got scratches all over your face from falling so many times."

"I'm fine, Hubert," Asbel grumbled, ignoring common sense and pushing himself to his paws again. "Hubert, I **have** to do this."

"But you don't have to do it super fast." the boy argued reasonably, but failed to keep his exasperation to a minimum, which gave Asbel the wrong impression.

"What, you think I can't do it? C'mon, I thought you had more faith in me Hubert!" the kit replied as he started trotting forward again as best he could.

Sophie stepped up near Hubert. "...Is he hurt?" she asked in her average monotone voice.

"He's a bit scratched up, but I think he wants to do this himself," Hubert advised gently.

"Why?"

"I'm pretty sure it's a matter of pride." Hubert replied, "Asbel likes doing things his way by himself."

Sophie tilted her head. "What's pride?" she asked, "Why does it make him run?"

"Uh…" Hubert muttered "Well, he's running because he wants to see the castle. The pride's what's making him not want help doing it."

"But what is it?"

"It's like… feeling like you're good enough to do something. So when he really wants to do something, he wants to do it himself. Otherwise he feels less good, and his pride's been hurt."

Sophie looked over at the glimpse of white fur having weaved between some people who had given him ample space before going about their business. "That's strange." she finally said.

Asbel heard the whole conversation, including being called strange. " _Uh…"_ he muttered in his head awkwardly, wondering why Sophie had said that.

But then he was back on his track because he finally stood before a large and pretty bridge that extended from that point straight to an upper entrance to the castle. Through the massive arch that covered the entrance to the bridge, stood a delightfully castle-like building built of stone. It's doors at the end of the bridge were almost sarcastically massive, and all of it matched the colors of the city around it.

"That's so cool, the entrance to the castle is elevated," Hubert commented to himself even as they were prompted to stop approaching by the guards. This left only time for brief and polite goodbyes from the adults in the group as they prepared to escort Richard into the castle.

"Thank you for your service to the crown, Lord Aston." Sir Mavis stated.

"It was my humble pleasure." Aston returned just as formally, and already the group was off.

Asbel managed to catch Richard's eye as he was leaving, waving a paw. "See you again someday, Richard!" he exclaimed happily, making Richard wonder once more if the boy his age was really that naive. But, it did provide some comfort, even a heartwarming feeling; After all, how many people are nice to a prince, **without** an agenda of their own?

He caught himself wondering, playing with the fantasy of having an actual friend, even as he got to the door and his guards requested entry.

But in the end, he had more pressing matters to attend to, such as learning of his father's condition.

But for Asbel, the day was about to start kicking off. For his father loomed above him angrily. "Aw, nuts…" he muttered as he saw this.

"Asbel, did I **not** stress **enough** …" the man growled, "How **critical** it was that you remain inconspicuous?"

"Chill out, dad… Nothing bad happened because of it." Asbel rolled his eyes, but Aston grew angrier still.

"Just because something does not immediately turn sour does not mean there are no negative repercussions of your actions, Asbel! Stories are told, rumors are made, off of a single misstep!"

Asbel blinked. "Uh, yeah. That's the point. They're stories."

"And stories cause far more damage than the truth can." Aston turned to look at the bridge and staircase back to the major roads of the city. "Stay **directly** beside me and do not speak a word. Do you understand?"

Asbel was about to mouth off, but his father's stern gaze said otherwise. "...Yeah… Sure… Fine…" he muttered, starting to pad along while Sophie seemed to obey the order at the same time, walking in time with Aston as well.

Asbel managed to keep at a slower pace, which helped him stay on his paws much easier. He looked down occasionally while he walked, looking at his claws and trying to move them, considering the lack of toes to go with them. He could kind of spread them outwards, which gave him some balance, but it felt rather uncomfortable to keep walking like that.

But all of the walking (and for Asbel, sightseeing) had to come to a conclusion eventually. And it concluded in the destination Aston had earlier been in such a rush to get to. A discreet building within the same district as the storefronts.

"Dr. Jasmine is a very accomplished doctor. If she cannot identify what has affected you, Asbel, I am afraid my only choice will be to contact established medical experts from the other countries… In the hopes of healing you." Aston explained, tense. "You are to show her no disrespect, and to answer all of her questions honestly and in as much detail as you can. Is that understood?"

Asbel broke away from his thoughts. "Uh, sure," he mumbled.

Aston didn't like the tone his son used. Not because it implied he wasn't going to listen, like usual, but that it sounded scarily reserved…

He shook his thoughts off and entered the building.

* * *

Now he sat on a simple chair opposite the door of the room, speaking quietly with the standing woman who was holding a grim expression. Aston's hand covered his eyes as he rubbed them with a thumb and forefinger, and he was slouched.

"...You're sure?" he asked weakly.

"I haven't seen any such flower, any such symptoms, **or** any such thing as a transformation between species in this manner." the brunette admitted, brushing her dress out of the way as she calmly seats herself. "I am sorry, lord of Lhant. But the flower has no liquid reservoir in it, no poison to cause the transformation, and neither do the thorns. Not even the petals have any irregularities that would befit a poisonous plant. Since you are very sure that the boy's contact with the thorn of the plant was what caused this… This…"

After realizing she didn't have a correct term for what the incident really was, she cleared her throat and continued. "I am quite afraid that unless someone has seen and experienced this exact flower before, **and** gotten lucky enough to find a cure somewhere, somehow, there is nothing I or anyone I know can do. That goes for medical experts far and wide… My best recommendation is that you send letters to whomever you can in the medical field and ask if they have seen such a flower before, and where it might have been, and if they know how to deal with the… Result."

There was a long, long silence as Aston absorbed the information, realizing that there was technically a chance, but that he would almost be afraid to send those letters only to get a series of negative responses. He still would, of course, but…

"...I understand," he replied somewhat weakly. "...I will do as you suggest, but beyond that, I have no procedure for this."

The woman did not comment on the man's fear, having known it once herself… In an entirely unrelated kind of scenario, of course. "For some things, there is no such thing as procedure," she muttered, standing and stepping aside. "Now, I will likely have others come in for my services. I am afraid this is a business, sir."

"...Of course." Aston wondered where all the sympathy the strange woman had shown before had gone. Now it was 'pay me and get out'. He swiftly brought the appropriate amount of money for a checkup such as this and paid the woman, who calmly took it. No, the sympathy was still there, Aston realized, she had just decided to suppress it. Perhaps not to make his situation weigh more on him than it already was.

Aston took a moment to wonder if any more sympathy really would crush him at the end of the day. Maybe she had a point.

He opened the door to the waiting room quietly, where his family and the girl Sophie waited. The pinkette in question was silent and observant, but didn't leap to question the man, but Hubert certainly did. "Dad! What'd she say!?" he asked in a louder voice than Aston expected from his rather timid younger son. One more weight fell on his heart as another impact to his family that had presented itself. Hubert was scared.

Aston decided that honesty was the best policy. "...I am afraid the doctor has never seen anything like this. Any part of this, even. She hardly believed either Asbel or myself when we gave her details about the flower. The poisonous effect that spread so rapidly when the thorn appeared undamaged and no liquid could be found in them, the lack of any information we have on its origin other than that it was on Lhant Hill, and that the effects of the poison were counted within half a day for something so drastic." he detailed reluctantly, sighing, "...I will be sending letters as far and wide as I can to see who might recognize such a flower, but until then…"

Aston tried his best not to show his emotions. He was an adult in a room with three inexperienced children. He needed to be a role model. After ten seconds of silence while he gathered his thoughts, he finally finished: "I am afraid the only thing we can do is go home and send those letters… And hope."

There was silence for a while, before Sophie said: "Okay" and piped down again. Asbel was sitting, slightly hunched, not meeting his father's eyes whilst Hubert was visibly speechless, in a mixture of shock and fear, fear of the unknown. But Asbel's expression really worried his father. It wasn't fear he was seeing. It was the same look of resignation as before this horrid bombshell. Before it could have been explained away as the boy's usual confidence that everything will turn out all right even if it isn't likely.

Now, it was like he was already prepared to be stuck like this. Almost like he didn't care enough.

Aston reached into his memories to find something, anything, that might tell him why he was watching the one thing he truly thought unshakable for better or for worse crumbling right before him. There wasn't any fear he showed while changing, but that was before the real, drastic changes happened overnight. And Asbel's major motivations included adventure, fun, excitement…

The Knight Academy.

Aston grimaced. His eldest boy was not old enough to understand what being named the next lord of Lhant truly meant. Even if he had made it as clear as possible about the duties he would be undertaking as he grew older and more responsible, but the boy continued to daydream about becoming a knight and serving crown and country. It was a child's dream, and even his wife had encouraged him to let Asbel have it, so he didn't grow up cold and almost unemotional because he was just doing what everyone else told him to all the time. Her opinions countered his and acted as a balance that helped them raise Asbel and Hubert right. But that hopeless daydream was likely shattered. Aston believed now that the thought going through Asbel's head multiple times was " _The Knight Academy isn't going to accept an animal…"_

"...We are going…" Aston trailed off, realizing there were many hours left in the day before they even had to consider finding shelter in the form of the inn. He had no illusion that his eldest son couldn't sit still that long. And ultimately, he admitted, it did seem as though Asbel had some time to go before he could walk well enough to hold his head high. He'd lost enough of Asbel's usual joyful expression. And pride, Aston knew, was most powerful the moment before it breaks, making the cracks more painful.

"...We will walk the terrain." he decided, causing his sons to perk up, especially Asbel. "Asbel needs to learn how to walk with the utmost certainty, perhaps even run. As you know, there is danger on the road, an example being when the young prince and his escort was attacked and Asbel—foolishly, mind you—ran out to assist. If danger is to arise, I would prefer it if Asbel could run on his own.

"Great idea!" Asbel agreed immediately, before thinking " _Holy crap did dad and I just agree on something?"_ He grinned as best he could. "Can we go to the knight academy!?"

Aston opened his mouth, but the ever so rare instance of raw sympathy struck before the words 'the walking surfaces there is the same as most of the city' could get from his head to his throat, and he found himself reconsidering. "...All right. Then we will attempt to go north of town before the sun sets to get you familiarized with much more uneven terrain."

There was cheering from the boy, his spirits suitably lifted. Sophie had clasped her hands together before her, giving a smile at the boy as she reflected the happiness he showed, and Hubert was openly giving his father a curious expression, one that detailed in of itself how surprised he was that Aston had agreed to such a thing, as without their mother around he kept to what was absolutely necessary.

"Now, the sooner we leave the more time we have to practice." Aston declared strongly, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt at the sheer shock that accompanied his doing something that the children would label as 'nice'.

" _Today is no different from any other day, with some key exceptions."_ Aston reminded himself grimly " _Every moment I can prepare the boy for the responsibilities he will have, I should use to all of our advantages…"_

Asbel bounded to the door happily, trying to rear up to place his paws on the knob of the door and twist at it feebly, quietly grunting in frustration. "Come on, come on…" Asbel said.

"Asbel?" Sophie asked.

Asbel dropped to the floor, curious. "What is it, Sophie?"

"Why are you getting mad at the door?"

" _Ooh."_ Asbel winced. "Uh… Just… Tryin'ta get it open…"

"...But Hubert and Aston can do it for you."

"That's… That's not the point! I wanna do it myself!"

"...Why?"

"B-because I could before, and I need to… I need to do it myself, that's all!" Asbel suddenly lost his balance and fell backward onto his back, grunting and twisting automatically to get his paws on the ground again. "Ow…"

Aston silently moved up to grasp the handle, but Asbel, despite not looking at Aston at all, got up fully and said: "I can do it, dad!"

Aston blinked, wondering how his son had recognized that it was he that was doing it. Perhaps it was his action being predictable, in fact, that was plausible, and yet he had a brief flashback to Asbel somehow just **knowing** that the prince's life had been in danger.

As the man pulled back, Asbel reared up and placed his paws on the knob, twisting his forelegs as much as he could to press his pads on the sides, and he slowly twisted them, grimacing in concentration as he tried to twist it enough to unlatch the door.

His paws were about to slip off, and he wasn't tall enough to do it justice, but the instant his paws slipped off and he fell back, a soft click was heard. "Victory!" he cried in excitement.

Hubert gingerly pulled on the door, only to find it still closed. "Sorry, Asbel, I think the door clicked back closed because it wasn't open enough…" he murmured.

"Argh, I have to be able to open doors!" the boy whined, but then he hung his head. "Fine, just this once…"

Aston opened the door.

They traveled back into the sunlight, walking progressively faster as Asbel showed he could manage. His legs were far, far smaller. By the time the humans were walking at full pace on the stones, Asbel was forced to try and walk rapidly, tripping a lot.

"Asbel, you won't be able to follow the same rules in that body," Aston explained, pushing patience into his words. "Being so small, you will be expected to run to catch up with us occasionally, and I am afraid it's very different from running as a human boy."

" _When did you get so… Helpful?"_ Asbel asked, frowning a bit. "Uh… How do I do it?"

"Do you remember the dog, back in Lhant?" Hubert asked.

Asbel blinked. "What, the one that's always sleeping? Hey! I'm not a dog!"

"No, but you are shaped like one," Aston replied, wincing at the raw truth in his words.

"The other dog, Asbel." Hubert smiled, finding it funny that Asbel's first thought was of the dog he really shouldn't have had too much contact with; It slept constantly in a house no man or woman in the Lhant family owned. "The one that's always running about in the courtyard?"

"Oh." Asbel looked embarrassed. "...Right. Uh…"

He envisioned the dog running, the way its legs moved, and tried to copy it. No dice. He tripped and hit his face on the ground in one moment. The epic failure was only followed by another try, and another. His raw determination made him a quick learner, as it always had. Regardless, it took him many, many tries to make it a few steps without tripping, but once he managed those few steps, he got right into cheering happily, which resulted in a painful looking somersault, resulting in his face hitting the floor again.

"...It's best if we limit our speed to what Asbel can safely walk at." Aston decided. "Asbel, we will continue to practice running when we are our in the grass and soil. Until then, we will stick to walking."

"Aww…" Asbel complained halfheartedly, but balanced himself on three legs and rubbed at his face anyways. He didn't feel like he was bleeding or anything, but his face stung. "Okay."

As Aston allowed, they walked up to the Knight Academy, watching Asbel practically bounce up to the building, pacing around it and downright marveling at the structure. The massive open entrance encircled by the archway built into the building loomed over Asbel and everyone else, preceded by a widening flight of stairs. On either side of the entrance stood statues of swords, the unmanned stone blades pointed towards the sky. Beyond the statues, to the right and left, hung banners over the windows that reached as high as the entrance, and in the same shape.

The only other thing that appeared significant was the statue outside of the academy to their left, which appeared to be the top half of a man in armor showing off his muscles… Hubert walked up to it and read the inscription, reckoning Asbel wouldn't do the reading himself. "This is a bust of the headmaster of the Knight Academy," he announced loud enough for his brother to hear.

Asbel looked over, distracted by this new information, and padded over. "Really? Cool!"

"The headmaster has no legs?" Sophie asked curiously.

"No, he probably has legs. They just didn't build the statue with them. Kinda weird." Asbel commented.

Hubert shook his head. "No, Asbel, it's a bust. They're supposed to be sculptures of a person's head, shoulders, and chest," he explained patiently.

"Oh."

"Can we-" Asbel started, but Aston shook his head.

"We cannot just waltz in on places that we don't belong in, Asbel." Aston declared "...Take your time, but I want to move on in time to do the rest of the things we need to do."

Asbel stared up at the structure for a while, trying to memorize the blade statues and the emblems on the banners that hung from the academy. He liked the sword design on one of them, like a blade made of light, an 'X' shaped crossguard also seeming to be made of light, and the blade and crossguard were haphazard, like it wasn't meant to be contained within the boundaries of a normal sword.

But as the levity of the thought of such a beautiful sword on his hand passed, Asbel's mind turned darker as he realized he'd never hold a sword like that, not ever. He had blades on his head and as his tail, but he'd never hold a sword.

Aston didn't question the look on Asbel's face when he turned from looking at the sword to him with a dejected expression. He knew his son wielded the permanently sheathed sword in his possession with gusto; There was no doubt that the thought of never wielding a sword again weighed heavily on the boy.

They left feeling slightly more weight on their shoulders and hearts than before, a trend all of them save the rather oblivious Sophie shared and wished would stop before the day was out. Instead, they swiftly got back on track and moved to the north, walking through the city in the hopes of exciting the city to the road beyond, where Asbel could try his hand at looser and softer terrain and spend more time learning how to run.

The path ran straight, relatively, but to either side, the ground rose up on uneven intervals and seemingly at random. Two to four-foot cliffs marked the ground rising up on either side, with some exceptions. Beyond the layers of earth that this left, the terrain began to flatten out relatively quickly. Asbel immediately tried to run, toppling as the ground gave way under his paws somewhat as he dug them in.

"Oof!" he exclaimed, before pushing himself up and trying again, and again. If he was succeeding at anything it was becoming so good at getting himself off the ground and standing up. It was getting to the point where he could practically launch himself back to his paws.

"I'm doing it! I'm- gah!"

It was an odd pace that they traveled at now. Stopping as Asbel collapsed, walking as he ran with his shorter legs. Of course, Asbel got distracted. Twenty minutes in and he was veering off the path into a grassy 'path' that was forged from the miniature cliffs from before. His followers all sighed and trekked after him, as he entered a small shaded place with trees that overlooked more of the same path.

"Glassphere!" Asbel announced, popping out of the grass with the glimmering, bouncy sphere in his jaws.

"Those things really are everywhere…" Hubert muttered.

"What's a glassphere?" Sophie asked curiously.

"They're just toys. Really shiny. They used to be worth a lot, but…" Asbel trailed off, bounding forward again to get down to the path below before Aston could stop his boy. He rushed to the end of the shaded area, only to find a steep but grassy incline back down. Asbel had tripped and rolled to the bottom, a small three foot decent.

"That was awesome!" he shouted, getting up immediately with his normal, happy grin. So familiar, but his face was shaped differently, so it was also so different. He had dirt and grass on his horn, and in his normally white fur, but the boy didn't notice in the slightest. He instead twisted and started to run forward again, making it a whole six feet before his face was in the dirt again.

"That was too reckless. What if it was a sharp ledge?" Aston growled as he dropped down, glaring at Asbel.

"Then I would have fallen like… Three feet. If I tripped when I was normal, I'd fall almost as far!" Asbel pointed out, annoyed. "Besides, falling hurts like… Way less than it did. Hey, maybe I'm harder to hurt!"

"We don't… Know that…" Aston sighed, defeated. The boy had a point that time, he acknowledged silently. He was growing far more protective than usual. If he shouted at Asbel just for tripping, it would be too much. There weren't any real hazards on this road, unless Asbel specifically looked for them. That said, Aston didn't really put that past Asbel.

This training continued until the incline started. The top of the hill was not clear, but Asbel bounded up it anyways, Sophie and Hubert close behind. Aston instead stood for a moment and rubbed his eyes. He thought about the stress he was enduring. His headache was continuing to pulse behind his forehead. Because he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know if he would ever know.

Asbel ran up the incline, or tried to. Faceplanting a couple times, he still managed to get up to the top, but what he saw surprised him. Two guards stood at the top of the incline, on either side of the entrance, and just as Asbel neared the crest, they pointed their weapons at him.

Sophie bolted forward as Asbel skidded to a stop. "Stop," she ordered monotonously. They did, and Hubert jumped in.

"He's with us!" he exclaimed. Well, exclaimed for Hubert, anyway, which was more of a panicked whisper.

Then a voice halted all issues. "Asbel? Sophie? Hubert?"

"Richard!" Asbel exclaimed, happy to see his perceived friend.

"It's all right." the boy spoke to his guards. They backed off immediately, operating in sync and going back to their posts while Richard stepped back. "This is a happy coincidence."

"You bet! It's great to see you again, Richard!" Asbel gave his carefree, childish smile.

The blonde considered this, and eventually, he gave a smile, choosing to trust them for now. The girl's presence was somewhat eerie, particularly because one moment she had no gauntlets on, but as the guards had drawn their weapons, the pinkette's gauntlets had suddenly been on her hands as she prepared to defend the boy that had turned into a beast. Regardless, she was protective of Asbel, which put her squarely in the 'dangerous but not to Richard' category until further notice. "While you're here, come on over. Take a look at this!"

They stepped forward as commanded and their eyes collectively widened as they took in the view. "Oh wow…" Asbel murmured at the sight.

A mountain range, tinted white and teal stretched across the far horizon. But before that beauty lay a gorgeous stretch of grasslands with pockets of trees of various types, forests appearing small in their indescribable vantage point. The cliff dropped down into some trees, though they did not obstruct the view before them. Asbel took note of the sky blue looking river trailing from the left and then stretching towards the horizon before eventually turning and disappearing into a forest on the right. It was like they could see the whole country from this spot.

"You can see so far!" Asbel announced happily. Richard smiled in response, not saying a word.

There was a long pause as the four absorbed the scene before them, until Richard finally spoke. "Sometimes I have the royal guard escort me here. I find it… Relaxing." he said, putting his hand on his hip. "All you see is land, and sky, and green. There's no pain, no suffering, just… Beauty. I see this and ask myself: Why must men fight? Why do all arguments inevitably lead to war?"

His gaze turned somewhat sad. "I would give anything to build a world without conflict." he continued. "...But I suppose That's just a silly dream."

Asbel blinked, thinking through what he knew about Richard, and hit the most prominent fact that Richard was the prince. "No, you can do it, Richard!" he announced immediately, looking very serious all of a sudden, looking up at the other boy. "When you become king, you can create any world you want!"

Richard couldn't help but glance at Asbel, taking a moment to consider his response. "My father used to say that same thing. But then…"

Asbel blinked a few times, remaining silent and waiting for Richard to continue. After the pause went on too long, the impatient boy asked: "Then what?"

Richard's eyes grew sadder, something Asbel noticed. Richard considered what he should say. He owed a debt to Asbel, most certainly, after Asbel saved his life by somehow knowing he was in danger. But did that really merit such critical information?

He glanced down at Asbel again, considering. If there was anything Richard knew, it was that the boy confused him. More and more it seemed like Asbel didn't really care that Richard was going to be king someday. Instead caring only that Richard seemed not to believe what he wanted was possible. Talking like… Dare he think it… A friend. But wasn't that impossible for a prince?

"You can't tell anyone this…" Richard hesitated. "My father isn't sick."

Asbel blinked.

"He was poisoned." Richard finished in the same tone.

Asbel looked horrified, trying to gesture with his forelegs like they were still arms in a careless moment to show surprise and anger, instead lowering his head by moving his paws out to either side in the action that usually gave a different result. But he forged on. "What!? Who would do that!?"

Richard slowly shook his head, closing his eyes. "There are many who stand to gain by my father's death," he explained quietly. He opened his eyes and looked out at the beautiful view as if he was memorizing every detail, as if he thought someday he might not see it again. "And when I become king, those same people will come for me as well."

"They'd try to kill you!?" Asbel exclaimed. "Who are they!? Let me at 'em! I'll take 'em out right now!"

"Poor Richard…" came Sophie's soft voice from behind, startling all of them.

Richard felt a little lighter at the response, but was not about to let Asbel throw himself into danger again. The prince could easily see now that Asbel had no understanding of politics, which simply made him innocent. And he couldn't deny that that innocence wasn't something he wished he could see more often in the people around him. Asbel wanted to be Richard's friend. Richard wanted… Something. He wasn't entirely sure just yet. "It's all right." he brushed the request off. "I just have to be extra careful from now on."

"If you ever need **anything** , Richard, you just come to me!" Asbel promised immediately. How he would help, Richard did not know. Asbel was trapped in a body unlike his own. He likely wouldn't be fighting anyone anytime soon. Regardless, Richard put that promise to memory, kept it ensnared within his heart, because he knew now that it was a genuine promise, devoid of expectation for reward or political power.

"Thanks, Asbel… I will."

"Asbel-..." the voice behind them cut itself off, and the children turned. Aston stood there, eyes drooping as if tired. He hadn't expected to walk in on the prince, but having listened to the latter half of the conversation, he did not feel like intruding. Nevertheless, he wanted Asbel to continue practicing his running, and the prince's being here was none of his business. "...If you're quite done, I believe you should learn to run confidently within the next few hours."

"My apologies," Richard said, wary now. Aston Lhant was an adult. And therefore, he knew what political power meant. The defensive walls of the prince's mind went back up as he reverted to formal terms. "I did not mean to interrupt Asbel's lesson" " _Though it's ironic, he very intentionally interrupted mine the other day"._

"No harm done, your highness." Aston sighed, causing the prince to start, looking closer at the man's eyes. Those were the eyes of raw exhaustion. Sympathy struck, and Richard gave a polite nod and a mental thanks for the lack of groveling, and turned back to watch the view again as Aston prompted the children to come back to him now.

"See you sometime!" Asbel exclaimed, turning his head and giving a bright smile. Richard looked over his shoulder, and he couldn't help but smile as well.

" _Maybe some things in the world really can be nice…"_

* * *

Sophie stood at the side of the path, turning her head to either side as her almost blank eyes tracked the mammalian creature as he ran back and forth. It was nearing time to leave, and Asbel was running relatively well.

Turning, though…

"Ack! Ow! Oof!" he tumbled across the dirt road until he slid to a stop.

"Are you all right?" Hubert asked.

"Yeah! Fine!" Asbel lurched up, standing as tall as he could, despite being very small. "I'm doing it, though!"

Before anyone could congratulate him, he was gone running again, trying to lean into his turns so he didn't lose his balance and start rolling. However, the boy overcompensated and pathetically flopped onto his other side.

This endless repetitive sequence just went on and on as Asbel gradually got better at running. He just didn't give up. And while he would sometimes attempt the same thing and hope for different results, he learned fast enough to have at least an acceptable understanding of how to run in his new body now.

"It's time to go." Aston declared strongly, not taking no for an answer. "We will depart for Lhant tomorrow."

"Aww…" Asbel yawned, betraying his exhaustion after running so much. Now that he thought about it, Asbel seemed to be better off than most would if they had exercised so much. "Can I get some water first?"

Aston brought one of the waterskins he carried and tried to give it to Asbel, but the boy had sat down and leaned back as best he could, holding his forepaws out to claim the item. Not wanting to make anything worse, Aston decided to let Asbel try. He gave it to Asbel in such a way that he could grip it below the opening, and Asbel tried to bring it to his mouth. He could bring his forelegs close to his mouth, so he managed to drink some water on his own without losing his grip on the waterskin.

He drank the entire thing. "Whew. Didn't notice I needed it," he mumbled, thinking.

"It seems if you are careful, you can use some basic functions," Aston noted aloud, mentally thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have to force Asbel to lap up water like a common dog. "And do pay attention to what your body tells you. None of us will know how quickly become hungry, or thirsty. If you need anything, let me know."

" _Dad's acting_ _ **way**_ _nicer than usual."_ Asbel thought. He nodded and tried to give the waterskin back, only to fumble it, but Aston caught it and returned it to his belt.

The adult led the children onwards to the city again, and as the sun started to set, they found themselves back in the city with an orange glow starting to dominate the blue.

"Can we see the Valkines Cryas before we go to the inn?" Hubert got up the nerve to ask, pointing somewhat westward down a road, which led straight through more buildings and into an elevated platform on the edge of the cliff, and at the far end of it was the massive green curved gem that narrowed to a point at the tip in it's curved pyramidal form. Odd petrified structures hung off of it that vaguely resembled wings of stone.

Seeing that they had the time, Aston relented without much persuasion. Asbel was the most excited once more, bounding up to the plaque that stood before the wind eleth cryas. "Gloandi…" he murmured, looking up at it. The Valkines Cryas Gloandi. "Cool…"

"Windor's Valkines Cryas." Aston had seen it before, stood in this spot several times. It glowed with power, glimmered in the light, but he had lost the sense of awe he used to experience as a child when he approached it. Nevertheless, it was still special. Society had a lot to thank the Valkines for, all the wind eleth it contained. To a child, it was a decoration. To an educated adult, it was an invaluable resource.

He had to pull his son away from the Valkines eventually, as any later and it would be night when they walked into the inn.

He pushed open the door, tiredly greeting the man at the counter across from the entrance. He silently took the children up to the room at the Inn and found himself tempted to just fall into his bed. It was what Hubert did, while Asbel managed to hop into the bed next to his brother. That left Sophie, who just stood there.

Aston envied the children their lack of responsibility now, but he knew he was going to have to keep being the responsible one. "Sophie," he called, bringing the girl's attention to him. She looked rather awake, although her eyes were drooping somewhat. "You may sleep on the other bed," he told her, stepping back and sinking into the soft chair nearby the bed his sons were lying down on. He noted with some resignation that Asbel didn't look comfortable on his back (and that he would have to pay to replace the damaged comforters from the blades that made up his son's new horn and tail), and was squirming around, eventually finding himself comfortable in a curled up position on top of the comforters.

One more sigh escaped his lips as he watched everyone except for Sophie fall asleep quickly. Sophie herself sat straight on the bed, eyes scanning the room much like a guard would. He distinctly remembered that he'd have to pay for the door she smashed when she heard shouting from Asbel and Hubert's room.

He would imagine that people with amnesia would be rather helpless on their own. But Sophie had quickly shown how powerful she was, if his understanding of their trip to Lhant Hill was any indication. What made her so different, so vigilant? He could **see** the blankness in her eyes, when very little is going on behind them. She was showing emotion slowly as she learned it from Asbel and Hubert, and perhaps some from himself, but nevertheless, she was a powerhouse. A mysterious one.

But he had had a long day. And the last thing he should be doing was anything other than resting so that he could safely get his children home. So he sat back, unable to note how tired he truly was because of how quickly he fell asleep.

* * *

 **So Richard's speech was ripped right out of the game, down to Asbel's reactions.**

 **Ultimately, if I could put Richard and Asbel on that scenic viewpoint together at any point in the child arc of the story, there's no doubt I should have. A vast majority of the conflicts in this game connect Asbel to everything because he's friends with Richard. And if I can't cement that friendship now, I won't be able to logically bring Asbel into the conflicts that really drive the plot along. And then I'd have to make an end of the world ending, probably... I don't wanna do that. So that's why Richard's scene had very similar dialogue, because it develops all the characters involved so much because of what they say and hear.**

 **I almost named the doctor 'Joy', but that seemed a tad overkill for my whole 'put familiar faces in other stories' thing that I'm not naming the reason for because I'd like people to find it themselves. In the end, I didn't. I'm worried I made her almost faceless in how little effect she had on the story in of itself other than to basically state that Asbel was stuck like that until further notice.**

 **that's all the comments for now. I'm gonna sleep, and then I'm gonna write KatJ and have fun with it! Oh, I can't wait. I pushed through this to get to that point and it's about to pay off... After I catch some Zs, probably a shower before that... Crap, I have to refill the firewood too. What else do I have to do... (starts mumbling)**

 **Amber: Hyper? Hyper, uh, are you okay?**

 **Jango: Chapter end, I guess. (shrugs)**


End file.
